The Other World
by Battleangel911
Summary: Another portal opens up and this time the entire Pines family gets pulls into the multi-dimension. They wake up in the horrifying realm where Ford spent thirty years of his life. Contains a few spoilers from Journal 3.
1. Chapter 1: The Message

**Gravity Falls is a product of Disney. No profit will be made from this fanfic.**

Chapter 1: The Message

 _From the moment he fell through the portal, he floated in darkness. He no longer had his glasses, which meant he couldn't see anything over a few inches from his face. That alone was terrifying. He reached into his trench coat to pull out his other pair. Looking around, he tried to get a good sense of his surroundings. Then he heard a familiar high pitch laugh that penetrated his mind and his soul._

 _"So, you finally decided to grace me with your presence? It's kind of gutsy for you to come into my realm! I hope you don't end up like your assistant. Then again, you're different than other humans..." The young scientist swam through the darkness; his brown hair somehow blew around even though there wasn't a breeze. Suddenly, something grabbed him. A giant black hand. He pounded his fists into it. He screamed out curses at the fiend. Looking upwards, he saw the triangular shape and one eye peering down at him._

 _"Go ahead and do it! Just kill me already! I'm not ever going to serve you! I'm not ever going to bow down to you!" His cries just made the monstrous beast laugh. Another black hand covered the thirty year old man, smoothing him. He couldn't breathe..._

Ford woke up in a cold sweat. The now, sixty-something year old breathed heavily, his heart pounding. His eyes darted around his room. It was a dream...no a nightmare. He hadn't had one of them in the last four years. Now, all of the sudden, he had this terrible dream. He got dressed and headed out his bedroom and down the hallway.

In the kitchen, Dipper and Mabel sat eating breakfast; his grandniece and nephew he was so thankful for knowing. Dipper sat reading a Quantum Physics textbook; it reminded Ford of him at that age. Mabel busied herself with her knitting. He remembered meeting them when they were twelve going on thirteen, and that was four years ago.

"Good morning," he said to them. Dipper looked up and suddenly plopped the book right in front of his uncle and began asking a bunch of questions concerning the properties of Physics. Ford happily answered any of his nephew's questions while inputting his own knowledge on the subject matter. Mabel continued knitting, but looking over at the other two ever so often. She barely understood what they were talking about. In some ways, it began to bother her that she couldn't talk to her great uncle the way Dipper could. They did talk a little about art and he was always interested in her projects. Maybe that was good enough?

Stan walked in holding his mug full of coffee. He saw his brother and great nephew going on about a topic he could care less about. He rolled his eyes. "Morning Nerds!" he greeted. Then saw Mabel. "What are you working on, sweetie?" Mabel flashed a wide smile.

"It's a baby blanket." Stan suddenly spit out his coffee.

"Wow! Do I have to deal with this already? Mabel, honey, I hope you're not saying you're—"

"It's for Waddles," she interjected.

Stan sighed with relief. "Oh, for the pig. Right." He sat down next to her, watching her change the color of yarn from blue to green. "So what are you kids doing today?"

"I don't know yet," Mabel answered. Dipper didn't answer as he kept talking to Ford more about science stuff. "I could see what Grenda and candy are doing. I kind of need a change in my daily routine," she admitted. "What are you doing today?"

"Probably fixing more stuff around the shack. Soos is doing really well with the business, so I don't need to do much there. It's actually getting kind of boring around here." Stan let out a long sigh.

All of the sudden, a few loud beeps sounded off from Ford's trench coat pocket. He jumped up with a cry. He grabbed his new cell phone. A contraption he never thought he would ever own. However, his grandnephew finally talked him into getting one so they could text while he was in California.

"Oh, I think I got a text." He showed the phone to Dipper. "Am I right? That's a text?"

Dipper laughed. "Yeah, just swipe the screen with your finger." Ford pulled his forefinger across the screen, but unfortunately, it wasn't working. "God! Why do they make this so hard! I just want to read my text message!" Dipper and Mabel both laughed this time. Dipper took the phone.

"Here, I got it." He easily opened up the screen that showed the text message. He handed it back to his uncle.

After a moment of reading the text, Ford's eyes brightened.

"Oh my Gosh! It's from an old friend of mine. I don't recall giving him my number. In fact, I haven't seen him since high school. Stanley, you remember Andrew Cartwell?" Stan raised an eyebrow.

"You mean, the guy that you constantly competed with?"

"Oh, it was all in good fun," Ford replied waving his hand. "But yes, he came in second as Salutation to me being Valedictorian—"

"Yeah, whatever," Stan said. Hearing about his brother graduating kind of burned knowing he didn't even get a chance to graduate.

"Anyway," Ford continued. "He finished a big project and he wants to share it with me."

"Can we see it too?" Dipper asked.

"Maybe we can all go. Sort of a family outing," Ford suggested.

"Uh, no thanks," Stan responded curtly. "I don't need to be around another big nerd."

"But, Grunkle Stan, think about the bonding," Mabel tried.

"What? You want to go too?" Stan asked his great niece in shock.

Mabel shrugged. "I said I need to change my daily routine," she said.

"Okay, let me ask Andrew if it's okay." Ford looked as his phone. "O-okay, how do I get the keyboard to come up?" Dipper touched the screen, making it appear. Ford slowly started typing. "Where are the punctuation marks?" Dipper hit the icon to bring up that screen.

"I'm going to finish three cups of coffee before you're done with that text, Ford," Stan said.

"Whatever, Stanley, you don't even know how to text or even have a phone for that matter."

"Yeah, because I refuse to enter another fad," he returned swiftly.

"Cellphones aren't a fade, Grunkle Stan," Dipper told him. "They just update them every few years, cellphone have been around since the 90's." Dipper turned to Ford as if needed back up.

"Don't look at me, I wasn't in this dimension at that time."

"So, can we all go?" Mabel asked excitedly.

"I'm waiting for his reply," Ford answered.

It was only a fraction of a second when the phone beeped with the text reply.

"He said 'yes.' In fact, he was hoping to meet all of you."

"So, where does he live?" Dipper asked.

"Oh, right. I need to get his address," Ford said starting to text again. "Okay, and got it. Oh, he's in Washington State; Seattle to be exact."

"Alright! Road trip! Road trip!" Mabel chanted.

"Oh boy, do I have to be involved in this?" Stan moaned. "I mean there are so many other things I can be doing instead."

"Like what?" Ford challenged.

"I don't know—anything else," he responded.

"Come on Grunkle Stan," Mabel tried. "We can all go in the RV like we did when we pranked all those attractions you're in competition with."

Stan sighed. "Fine."

The next day, the Pines family piled their belongings and other gear into the RV. Mabel carried Waddles towards the vehicle.

"Whoa! What are you doing with the pig?" Stan demanded.

"I can't take Waddles?" Mabel asked a little hurt. Stan put his fingers on the side of his eyelids.

"Sorry, no. It's too much to deal with." He looked up at his niece seeing her push her upper lip into a pout. "I'm sure Soos will take care of it—or him."

"Okay," she said sadly. She took the pig back inside the shack.

Minutes later, the RV was all packed up. The guys stood by the RV waiting for Mabel.

"So what else can you tell us about this guy, Ford?" Stan asked. "I mean, he called you out of nowhere and wants us all to come see him."

"Yeah, I'm still wondering how he got your number?" Dipper asked.

"I assume he looked it up," Ford answered.

"Uh, people can't look up your cell phone number like they can your home number," Dipper explained.

"Oh, they can't? Then how did he get my number?" Ford wondered. "I guess I'll ask him when I get there."

"Why not ask him now?" Stan asked.

Ford shrugged. "I really don't care. I'm actually happy to hear from him after all this time."

Mabel finally walked over. Her brown eyes stared down with her mouth in a straight line.

"Soos said he'd take care of Waddles," she said sadly.

"Sorry honey," Stan said. "We're not going to be gone too long. It'll take about four hours to get there and we're only staying for a couple days. Right?" he turned to Ford with a stern glare.

"I guess so," Ford answered, not at all intimidated by his brother.

With that, everyone boarded the RV. In the next few moments, the vehicle took off down the road.

 **A/N: Feel free to 'like' and or give a review. I accept feedback of compliments or constructive criticism. The idea is to become a stronger writer, right?**


	2. Chapter 2: An Old Friend with a Twist

Chapter 2: An Old Friend with a Twist

 _Walking through the barren wasteland, Ford looked for any signs of life, but found none. Barely visible white light whirled around in the blood red sky, moving upwards, downwards, sideward and around in circles. The further he walked, the more weighted he felt. It was as if the air became heavier, making his efforts to move forward very exhausting._

 _High pitch laughter broke the silence. It sounded as if very far away, but then changed as it sounded like it was all around him. As Ford looked around, he suddenly realized he was in a field of tall grass, however, the grass was brown and dried out. Fire exploded in front of him, a pattern burned into the grass in the shape of a triangle. The formation changed into a yellow triangular being with one eye wearing a top hat and bow tie. Ford looked up with wide, horrified eyes at the floating dream demon._

 _"Fordsy!" the being called down. "What are you doing here? You came all the way to my dimension to see me?" he sounded delighted._

 _"Bill?" Ford shut his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, his eyes hardened as he stared at the triangle with defiance. "I want nothing to do with you!"_

 _"Oh, that's just rude! I thought we were best friends here," Bill said with annoyance._

 _"Friends!" Ford chocked out. "You used me! Now get out of my face!"_

 _"Yeah, it's not wise to talk to me that way. You're in my world now. And I can get into your mind any time so—"Bill raced towards Ford, but when he tried to enter the human's mind, he couldn't. He couldn't even read his thoughts. The demon's eye flashed red._

 _"What the hell did you do?" he demanded. "Why can't I get into your mind?"_

 _Ford tapped his head making a metallic sound. "I made sure you couldn't mess with my thoughts again. I installed a metal plate inside my head."_

 _"What? That's insane! How did you do that? To your own head?"_

 _"None of your business how I did it."_

 _Bill stared down at Ford for a long moment. "Okay. Fine. Be that way! I'll find you soon anyway."_

 _Find him soon? He was right in front of him. Then Ford realized that Bill wasn't actually there. He must have projected himself to this spot like he does in the Mindscape. "I'll see you soon. Hope you don't die!" Bill said the last part with sarcasm. "Well even if you do, I'll find your bloated corpse." Ford flinched as those words pierced him. Bill disappeared afterward, leaving Ford to fend for himself. Now alone, the thirty-something year old looked around finally seeing a few houses up ahead. He hurried through the field towards them, praying he'd find someone who could help him._

Ford felt something touch his shoulder. He jerked upright, opening his eyes. It felt like something under him was in constant motion. Then realized he was on the cot in the back of the RV. He turned towards Mabel who woke him up.

"Are you okay, Grukle Ford? You were mumbling in your sleep."

He reached over and grabbed his glasses from the nearby table and put them on.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What were you dreaming about?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't remember," he lied. "It's not important." He got up and headed to the front of the vehicle. Stan continued driving as Ford sat in the passenger seat.

"Do you want me to take over driving for a while?" he asked.

Stan shrugged. "Sure, if you actually drive the speed limit."

"Of course I'll drive the speed limit," Ford said with irritation.

"Okay. You tend to drive ten under." He paused. "You know you can get pulled over for that?"

"I don't drive under the speed limit. Now pull over." Stan did and they switched seats. As soon as Ford sat down, he spent a good few minutes adjusting the side and rear view mirrors before putting on the seatbelt.

"Come on, I'd like to move some time today," Stan said impatiently to his twin.

Ford started to move the rear view mirror again. "I'm just going to move this a fraction to the left—"

"Okay, now you're just trying to tick me off!" Stan raged.

"—And we're good," Ford finished before putting the vehicle into gear.

Four hours seemed to pass rather quickly. Dipper and Mabel spent time playing games they brought or trying to spot out of state license plates.

"I just saw one from California, and there's one from Nevada and Arizona," Mabel listed all of them.

"How come every time you see a car, it's from out of state, while I only find the ones from Oregon?" Dipper asked, annoyed.

Mabel shrugged, making her cute and muffled 'I don't know,' sound.

"Hey can I play, I just saw Alaska," Stan said from the front.

"That plate read Arkansas, Stanley," Ford said.

"Whatever. Same difference, just less ice and uh, more grass—"

"Hey, I see the 'Welcome to Washington' sign. So, it's only a few more hours," Ford called to the kids.

"Hey, can I drive for a while?" Dipper asked. Both Stan and Ford stuttered out sounds of disapproval. "Come on, I've had my license for over six months."

"We know," Ford replied. "But driving an RV is a bit different than driving a car. It's harder to safely move a larger vehicle. It's fine. I can drive the rest of the way there." Dipper groaned.

Mabel looked out the window. "Oh, I just saw New Mexico. I think that put me in the lead at ten to zip."

"Whatever. I don't want to play the stupid game anymore," Dipper fumed.

Finally, the RV approached Seattle. The thick clouds in the sky threatened to pour down rain, however just maintained a gloomy atmosphere.

"Well, looks like we're saying 'goobye' to the sun for a while," Stan said. "This is what Washington State looks like, kids. Aren't you glad you came," he said with sarcasm.

"What is your deal?" Ford questioned him.

"I don't know. I'm not sure I trust this friend of yours," Stan admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"You haven't seen this guy since high school, right? And out of the blue, he calls you. Where has he been all this time?"

Ford let out a long sigh. "Well, when I talked to him after the graduation ceremony, I found out he was going to West Coast Tech." Stan raised his eyebrows, and then he eyed his brother cautiously.

"Uh, how do you feel about that?" he asked slowly.

"How am I supposed to feel?" Ford turned with slightly harsher tone. Stan winced. "It is what it is," he said curtly. "He went to West Coast Tech and I didn't. I ended up doing what I wanted to do."

Stan relaxed a little. "Yeah, right. You still accomplished your dream of researching anomalies. Does he do the same thing?"

"He didn't really say what he's been working on. But, we'll find out soon."

The RV went down a secluded dirt road, and up a hill into the trees. At the top of the hill was a giant house that sat on a peek over looking the ocean below. The house itself had three floors with four octagon shaped walls, connected by long rectangular walls. A few large octagon windows were seen in the front. The back of the house could not bee seen, but the roof appeared circular.

"He's rich!" Stan stated.

Ford stared at the place with big eyes, but then he quickly got over the feeling of awe.

"Yeah, well, I told you people who graduate from West Coast have great connections," he said as he got out of the vehicle. Dipper looked over at his great uncle with worried eyes.

"I—uh didn't realize Great Uncle Ford's friend went to the exact school he was denied entrance into." Stan looked away. "This—uh—isn't going to cause an issue between you two, is it?"

Stan shrugged. "I don't think so. Ford accepted that he didn't go to that overrated school. He even said that he ended up where he wanted to be despite not going there. So, I don't think he's upset or anything." Stan pushed open the passenger side door and got out.

Ford stood at the door as his family walked over. His hand grabbed the decorative gold knocker and hit it against the white wooden frame of the door a few times.

"How about we try the doorbell," Stan said pushing a marble white button inside a gold plated fixture. Chimes went off inside.

"Geez, I feel like I'm at Pacifica's house," Dipper said with a laugh.

Finally, someone opened the door, a tall, thin man in a polo shirt and nice pants.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Hello, I'm Stanford Pines. I'm here to see Andrew," Ford said.

"Ford?" A voice from way inside the house yelled out. A man just about Ford and Stan's height walked into the foyer. His gray hair was neatly combed; his blue eyes gazed at his longtime friend.

"Hi there!" Ford said as he shook the guy's hand. He looked over his choice of clothing; he appeared almost like how Stan dressed on his down days; a sleeveless t-shirt and shorts with sandals.

"And this is your family?" Andrew asked.

"Yes, this is my twin brother, Stanley," Andrew shook Stan's hand. Stan kept a pleasant smile on his face. "And this is my grand nephew Dipper, and my grandniece, Mabel." The two shook the man's hand.

"Wow! I'm so glad you all came. I have some snacks in the kitchen. Follow me." He led them through a very eloquent looking living room with leather furniture, a large entertainment center on one side and an electric fireplace on the other. They walked across white carpeting into a very spacious kitchen. On the center island counter top were a few trays, one with vegetables and dip and the other had cheese and crackers.

"Wow! Fancy!" Stan remarked. He picked up a square cracker and placed some Colby cheese on it, stuffing it into his mouth.

"Can I offer any of you a drink?" Andrew asked. "I have some good imported wine for us adults and soda for your niece and nephew."

"Um, okay. Thanks," Ford replied, still taking in everything.

After a while of snacks and talking, Andrew got up from the table.

"So, who's ready to see my new project?"

That didn't take long. "Uh, sure. Going to keep it a surprise until you actually unveil it, huh?" Ford asked.

"Well, you know me," he said.

"Actually, we don't," Stan said rather hastily.

Ford shot his twin a hard glare. "Sure, show us what you got," he said.

Andrew led the Pines family down a long hallway until they came to a door at the end. Opening the door, they went down a flight of wooden stairs until they came to a study with shelves of books on every wall.

Dipper whispered to Mabel. "Let me guess, he's going to pull a book and the bookshelf will move, showing a secret passage."

Andrew didn't pull on book. He held a remote control in his hand, much like the one Ford used for the vending machine. He jerked the joystick forward, causing a trapdoor to open up in the center of the floor, revealing another flight of descending stairs.

"Or we can go with the traditional moving floor leading into a secret underground lair," Dipper finished.

Down the stairs of tiny lights, Andrew led the family into a dark area. They stood there a moment before multiple lights clicked on, revealing a large machine. Ford looked over the contraption; his mouth fell open as he gasped. His eyes stared at the large octagon frame. It was almost like the one he built, but the shape was changed from a triangle.

"Andrew," he barely got out above a whisper. "What is this?"

Andrew laughed with such delight. "Ford, what if I told you that I just invented a portal into another dimension?" Ford looked at his family who had equally stunned faces. They were all thinking the same thing. Ford narrowed his eyes and turned to his friend.

"I'd say your flippin' crazy. And you're the second person I know to try something this stupid."

Andrew stared at Ford for a long moment, his eyes big as saucers and confusion lining his face. Then his mouth curved up to a wide grin as he laughed.

"What?" he cried. "Ford, do you even know what this thing is? It's a gateway into another world!" he exclaimed.

"I know what it is!" Ford returned harshly. "And I know that you're messing with something that's to risky."

"How do you know? Who else besides me has ever accomplished such a feat?" he sounded sort of smug as he spoke.

"You're looking at him," Ford tossed back. The rest of the Pines' family stared with gaping mouths at him.

"Uh, maybe you shouldn't tell him—" Stan started to speak. However, Ford kept going.

"I know this is a bad idea. I was told to dismantle the portal I created, but I didn't listen. I paid dearly for my misjudgment." His eyebrows lowered as he stared at his friend with pleading eyes. "Please don't make the same mistake."

"What are you talking about?" Andrew asked. "What exactly happened?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you everything. Just trust me okay?"

"Okay, okay. Just—can you do something for me?" Andrew asked his longtime friend.

"Sure, I guess so," Ford answered.

"Help me dismantle it. I-I don't trust myself to do it." Ford completely understood.

"Sure. Of course I will," he answered kindly. Ford turned to his family. "I'll start helping Andrew with this project. Maybe all of you can go back upstairs and have more snacks."

Stan's eyes brightened. "Is there more wine?" Ford laughed lightly and turned to his friend.

"Is that okay if they do that?"

"Oh, yes of course. But I wondered if we could start this project tomorrow? It's been a long day and I'm sure you would like to rest first, right?" Ford looked unsure as he turned towards the portal.

"Um—I—"

"It'll be fine, Ford," Stan said. "It's not going anywhere. Let's just go have some food, wine, talk about stuff."

Ford sighed. "Okay," he agreed reluctantly.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in friendly conversation. Everyone sat around the luxurious living room.

"So, how much did this place set you back?" Stan asked.

His question was met by another glare from Ford.

"I bought the land pretty cheaply compared to the house. Back in the seventies, it was approximately one hundred thousand, but today, it's worth two million. As you can see, the windows are in an octagon shape as is every room in this place."

"Why is that?" Dipper asked.

"I wanted to be different. People have homes that are either square or circular."

"Who has a circular house?" Mabel asked.

"Those too, are unusual, but they're out there. I have the only octagon shaped house.

"Nah, I'm sure someone else thought of this too," Stan said.

"Not to my knowledge," Andrew replied.

"Actually, I am wondering why the octagon shape was not only used in your home, but also the portal?" Ford asked. He thought of this, realizing he did the same thing with his portal and the shack being triangular shaped.

"The idea just came to me in a dream," Andrew answered in a smooth tone.

Ford raised an eyebrow to that. "A dream, huh?" he questioned.

At that moment, Andrew raised his empty wine glass. "Would anyone like more wine?" he asked more upbeat.

"Heck yeah!" Stan responded with enthusiasm.

Later that night, Dipper and Mabel sat on separate twin beds in the room Andrew had made up for them. Mabel had her knitting while Dipper continued reading his Physics book. Mabel looked over at her brother. He had been reading that book for a long time.

"So, have you memorized that book yet?" Mabel asked. Dipper slowly lifted his eyes over the edge of the book.

"Actually, this is my second time reading it," he responded.

"Why do you always read a book more than once?"

"What kind of question is that? Obviously, I get more out of the information the more times I read it."

"What's the book about exactly?" she asked further.

Dipper rolled his eyes in annoyance. "It's all about Physics. All the properties of Physics." He continued reading.

"Maybe I could take a look at it some time?" Mabel asked. Dipper peered around the edge of the hard cover.

"Uh, you probably want to start with the Introduction to Physics. I left it at the shack, but when we get back, you can look at it." Mabel sighed. She looked down at the blanket she knitted. It looked big enough for Waddles to cuddle under. She finished tying the knots at the end.

"There, all done!" She turned to Dipper. "I'm bored."

Her brother sighed and closed his book. When Mabel says she bored, it usually means she's looking to drag him on some weird adventure.

"You want to explore this place?" Dipper asked. Her eyes lit up as he had read her mind.

The twins left their room, which was on the second floor. Every floor had the octagon shape. It wrapped around in a circle around the stairs, which were in the middle of each floor.

"Come on. I'm curious as to what's on the third floor," Mabel said running to the white marble staircase.

As Mabel reached the top step, she turned the corner, then stopped and looked into a rather large room with shelves of books and more Italian couches. Ahead of her was a large bay window looking over the lake.

"Wow!" she exclaimed walking inside. Dipper followed after her. When his eyes caught books from floor to ceiling, he walked over and started reading each title.

"Andrew has a lot of history books, something from each era," he said.

Mabel turned to the short ladder running up the bookshelf. With one hand on the ladder, she pulled herself up to the third shelf. There were different copies of atlases. One of them popped out at her.

"Oh, here's an atlas of the Artic. This was where Grunkle Stan and Ford went." She almost fell off the ladder as she pulled the huge book out of its place on the shelf.

The other bookshelf suddenly moved, revealing a passageway.

"Hey! There's our secret passage in the bookshelf!" Mabel cried.

"Really?" Dipper questioned. "Pretty cliche."

Mabel was already down the ladder and moving fast paced towards the passage.

"Okay, fine. I guess we're just going through the passage that leads to who knows where," he said as he followed his sister.

Mabel looked down the stone staircase. It looked pretty dark. She turned to her brother.

"We need a flashlight," she said.

"I have one in my bag back in our room. Hold on." He ran off and was back in a minute. He shined the light on the steps below them. "I guess I'll lead the way," Dipper said as he walked down with Mabel following closely behind. Together, they moved down the spirally staircase to unknown territory.


	3. Chapter 3: Exploring Underneath

Chapter 3: Exploring Underneath

The twins wandered down step after step, noticing the walls becoming grimier with cobwebs covering the moldy brick going around the spiral staircase. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they found a large iron door.

"Do you think we can open it?" Mabel asked.

"Well, let's see," Dipper replied taking ahold of the hanging loop handle. "I feel like we're in a medieval castle." He pulled and pulled, but the door didn't budge. "Maybe if I got some help?" he looked at his sister.

Mabel walked over and the two pulled the door handle as hard as they could. They succeeded with opening the door to the point where they could see into a tiny study. Papers scattered along the desk and a chalkboard full of equations sat on the opposite side of the room.

"This looks a lot like Ford's study," Dipper commented.

"Well, this guy is a researcher like our uncle, right?" Mabel thought for a moment in silence. "Did he make his portal the same way Grunkle Ford did?"

"I have no idea," Dipper answered. "Great Uncle Ford used parts from an alien spacecraft. I guess Andrew had to do the same thing?"

"How did he get that technology?" Then another question came to her mind. "Do you really think he will dismantle the portal? I find that hard to believe since he probably spent so long building it."

"Mabel, I don't know any of those answers okay? I hope he does dismantle it because we've seen the problems an inter-dimensional portal has caused."

Dipper began reading every piece of paper he found on the desk. "Apparently, he studies alien life forms," he said. "He wrote about some reptile race and he has a picture here—" Dipper studied the picture, no photograph. Unlike Ford who drew all the anomalies he saw, it appeared that Andrew had actually taken photos. "Mabel, this is an actual picture of an extraterrestrial!" He recalled the underground base he went to with his uncle and everything he saw including alien writing and perhaps a skeletal remains of an alien being. Mabel looked at the printed photograph.

"What's with this thing's face? These lines on its forehead make it constantly look mad."

Dipper looked at another picture under it. The creature had grayish skin and a big head with large black eyes. _"This creature is called a Grey. It uses telepathy and telekinesis powers,_ " he read out loud. "I've heard of Greys before, actually."

"Any more pictures?" she asked.

"I don't know. Look around," he said becoming lost in what he read.

Mabel scanned through all the 'boring' paragraphs, looking for more photos.

She didn't find any however and now she became bored.

The sixteen-year-old girl continued over to the chalkboard where she stared at equations that meant nothing to her. Flipping the chalkboard around, she found more writing. However, none of the letters formed any words.

"Dipper, does this writing make any sense to you?" Mabel called to him. Dipper reluctantly put down the piece of paper he was reading and joined his sister. It didn't take him long to realize what it was.

"This is— Huh, well, I guess our great uncle isn't the only one who writes in code. Let me see if this was done the same way." Dipper took a pencil and piece of paper and wrote down the letters on the chalkboard. "See, you have to go back three for each letter," he explained.

"Three back?"

"Yeah, like here, we start with a D, but we go back three letters in the alphabet and it's really an A."

"Oh, I can do that!" Mabel exclaimed. She pushed a strand of long brown hair away from her face. She found another blank sheet of notebook paper on the desk and a pencil. After a moment, she deciphered the code.

"I got it!" she yelled. Dipper jumped at his sister's high pitch screech.

"Got what?" he asked. She showed him her piece of paper. "A humming bird sits on its nest and sings." Dipper realized he got the same thing.

"Okay. Great, wish I knew what that meant. Are there any birds in here?"

"How about that?" she asked, looking up at a decorative piece on the wall. She pulled on it. All of the sudden, the wall opened up.

Dipper threw his hands into the air. "Oh my God! That is so cliche!"

"Oh whatever. Let's go!" Mabel said with vigor as she ran through the doorway.

 _Underneath the surface of a distant world, a small group of various alien races gathered; some native to the dimension, some came to fight for the cause. A dark skinned gentleman stood in a room with ten others. His large stature along with his spike-like skin that protruded from his face, arms and legs made him stand out among the rest._

 _"We attack now! No more hiding!" he commanded._

 _"We talked about this before," said a woman with blue tinted skin, her dark hair held in a long braid. "It's not a smart idea, Raynard." The man's dark eyes shot to her._

 _"You're questioning me again, Selese?" he accused with his mouth down in a scowl._

 _The heated discussion got interrupted as two large male aliens, the same race as Raynard, entered. They held a human man much smaller in stature. He appeared to be in his thirties, his brown hair matted to his head, is eyes stared down and lifeless._

 _"Who the hell is that?" Raynard shouted._

 _One of the men held up a wanted poster with the human's picture on it._

 _"His name is Stanford Pines. He's the one Cipher wants."_

 _Selese ran over to the human and looked into his eyes._

 _"He's dehydrated. He needs water now!" she said with urgency._

 _She pulled out a canteen with water from the belt around his waist, opened it and handed it to him._

 _"What are you doing?" Raynard bellowed._

 _"I'm helping him," she answered simply. She looked at the suffering man, "You can drink it," she said._

 _With a shaky hand, he took the container and gulped down its entire contents. He suddenly coughed and gasped for air._

 _"Where am I?" he asked between breaths._

 _"You're safe," Selese replied. She held his wanted poster in her hand._

 _"So, you're name is Stanford Pines?"_

 _"Ford," he said, then realized his mistake. "I mean—damn it!" he cursed at his ignorance._

 _"I already know who you are," she said, showing him the picture._

 _Ford squint his eyes at her. "Are you gonna turn me in?" he accused hastily. Selese smiled._

 _"Please. That triangular demon wants to kill anyone not following him. There's no way I'm cooperating with his shit propaganda."_

 _Ford eyed her suspiciously. "Okay, So who are all of you?"_

 _"My name is Selese. And we are the last ones standing who are fighting the cause."_

 _"What cause?"_

 _"That is what we call our group. Our mission is to bring freedom back to this dimension," she replied._

 _"Okay, you did your civic duty," Raynard interrupted. "Now put him in the holding cell."_

 _"What? Why? He hasn't done anything wrong," Selese argued._

 _"Not yet," he replied rashly. He nodded to the two alien men who herded Ford towards a long hallway. At the end of the hallway was a small cell where they threw him inside._

 _"What? I don't get a phone call?" Ford called out. He was being facetious of course. He knew this dimension didn't offer such an option. It was merciless._

 _It was nearly an hour later when someone came back. The slender woman with blue skin walked up to the cell._

 _"How long do you plan on keeping me in here?" Ford asked. Selese opened the cell door. She smiled at him._

 _"I'd say you've been in there long enough," she said._

 _"Are you sure you can trust me?" Ford tossed out sarcastically._

 _"You have an interesting sense of humor," she responded._

 _"And you have a strange way of welcoming a newcomer into your group."_

 _Selese let out a tiny laugh. "You are different. I'll give you that. Come on, the others have gone out scouting. We can take this time to talk and get to know each other." Ford raised an eyebrow. "Okay," he said slowly as he walked out of the cell._

 _The next few images were scattered. They consisted of Ford and Selese talking about how her group has been fighting against Bill and all his weird monster minions._

 _"This dimension was taken over by them ten years ago. His kind were known to continuously conquer worlds, but they ended up destroying each place they inhabit and then look for a newer world to take over," Selese explained._

 _In the following image, Selese takes Ford over to a vault of various firearms and handheld weapons. She hands him the smallest handgun in the vault. He narrowed his eyes._

 _"Uh, this thing is kind of small. I'm not sure if I can use it without breaking it."_

 _Selese giggled. "You can't break that. Trust me."_

 _In the final image, Ford and Selese ran through the streets with weird monsters chasing them. Then they were in a dilapidated building. Loud crashes came from the other side of the door they barricaded. They held out their guns as the monsters crashed through the entrance. Guns were fired. Something grabbed Ford; he struggled to breathe. Long tentacles wrapped around his throat, suffocating him..._

Ford bolted upright grasping his neck, letting out a small cry. It took him a moment to realize he was breathing just fine. He looked around the room. He sat in the twin bed and turned to the other identical bed with Stan sound asleep. Another horrendous nightmare caused Ford to wake up and not have a chance of going back to sleep. He held his head in his hands. Why now? After four years of having a peaceful sleep, the horrific dreams returned and they felt more vivid. He walked out into the hallway towards the room his niece and nephew were using. Entering the room, he noticed right away they were both gone.

Stan was having a nice sleep until someone violently shook him awake. His eyes moved to his brother's worried expression.

"What are you doing?" he spoke in a raspy voice.

"The kids are gone! We gotta find them!"

Stan let out an aggravated groan. "Really? Maybe they just went to the bathroom."

"Fine, let's check it out then." Ford hurried back into the hallway.

Stan pulled himself out of bed. "Fine. I guess I don't get to sleep tonight."

When Ford checked the hallway bathroom, it was empty. There wasn't any sign of them on the second floor.

"I'm getting dressed," Ford said heading back to their guest room. He put on his sweater, pants, trench coat and finally his boots.

"I'm not bothering to get dressed," Stan said.

"At least put on some pants," Ford responded rolling his eyes.

After the two were dressed, they headed towards the twirling staircase, climbing the stairs up to the third floor.

"This place gets more impressive the more I see of it," Stan said marveling at the spacious entranceway at the top of the steps. As his eyes looked around the octagon shape railing going around the stairs, Ford's eyes went to the library ahead of them.

"Wow! I figured he had his own supply of books, but I didn't think it would be like this."

"Yeah, great, whatever," Stan replied obviously unimpressed.

Then, they saw the passageway into the bookshelf. "Uh, is that normal?" Stan asked.

The two brothers took a closer look.

"Do you think the kids went this way?" Ford wondered.

Now Stan was getting worried. "Well, let's go already." He pushed passed his brother, heading down the staircase.

Dipper and Mabel walked from the study right into a familiar large room. Many red and blue lights flashed in the darkness. As the twins walked into the room, the lights on the ceiling switched on, shining brilliant light down on them. They turned to see the octagon shaped portal.

"Oh, we're back in here," Dipper said with an impressive tone.

"Okay." Mabel let out a nervous laugh. "I think we're done with exploring." She kept her back to the gigantic portal. Dipper on the other hand, couldn't take his eyes off of it.

"So, Andrew really built this by himself? It is kind of amazing." Dipper moved to a large door that no doubt kept the user in the control room safe from biohazard materials. The electronic door slid open as he entered the room. The control panel sat behind a thick piece of glass. He remembered the control panel for his uncle's portal when he was down in the basement with Mabel and Soos. They attempted to shut down the portal before they realized what it really was. This control panel was similar to that one in many ways.

"I wonder if he wrote down how to use this thing?" Dipper wondered out loud.

"Dipper, don't mess with it! Come on, let's just go back," Mabel said as her voice increased with anxiety.

"Okay. I wasn't going to touch anything. Calm down."

As Dipper looked at the desk next to the control panel, he saw a ribbon sticking out of one of the compartments. Opening it, he found a hardcover book. It was decorated with gold symbols on the front. He didn't recognize any of them. Of course he wasted no time in tearing open the book and reading whatever he could from it. The first page began Andrew Cartwell's autobiography how he went to the prestige West Coast Technological University, graduated with highest honors and continued to study alien life forms and inter-dimensional travel.

"What'cha reading?" Mabel asked, walking through the sliding door behind the protective glass shield.

"Apparently, Andrew wrote his own journal."

"Ooh! Let me see!"

Dipper pulled the book closer to him. "No—Mabel I'm reading it right now," he said becoming more irritable. Mabel stared at her brother for a moment as he buried his face in the book. Finally, she scrunched her face, narrowing her eyebrows.

"You know, I'm smart too! I might not have the same intelligence as you and Grunkle Ford, but I can understand supernatural stuff!"

Dipper peeked over the top if the book with his eyebrow rose smugly. "Well, this isn't supernatural stuff, Mabel. This is about alien life forms that in theory, lived on this Earth or may still be living here on Earth in some underground base." He returned his eyes to the book, "Or so this journal says."

Mabel let out a groan. "Why can't we just read it together?" Dipper didn't answer. She tried to peek around the book to see, but her brother did a good job covering it with his face, plus the rim of his baseball cap also made a good barrier. He had taken to wearing a plain baseball cap and switched colors between blue, green and brown, today it was brown.

Finally, Mabel had enough. Her anger boiled inside from her twin's arrogance. In one smooth motion, she ripped the book from his hands.

"Mabel!" Dipper yelled.

She waved the book in front of him, tauntingly. "You want this book so bad?" She pulled it in close to her and ran through the electric sliding door into the big room where the portal stood. Dipper chased after her, his teeth clenched and arms stretch out trying to grab his sister. He almost had her, but Mabel did a quick side step, quickly getting out of his reach. She now stood by the electric door again, holding the book out. "You're gonna have to do better than that!" she teased.

"Goddamn it, Mabel!" Dipper rushed at her, grabbing her around the waist, pushing her through the door and slamming her into the control panel. Some lights flashed on as the machine roared. Neither twin noticed.

"Oh my God! What the hell is your problem?" Mabel cried out. "It's just a stupid book!"

"You don't get it!" Dipper raged. "You've never gotten it! Even when I found the journal that Ford wrote, you sat there and teased me all the time about how much I read it! You never gave me any credit for the fact that if I didn't find that journal, we would never have met our uncle!"

"Give you credit! You told me to hit the button to shut down the portal! If I listened to you, you wouldn't have met him, so give me some credit for once!" She punched her brother square in the face. Dipper stumbled through the door, now standing in the middle of four dots that made the shape of a rhombus. A bright light erupted from the portal.

"Fine Dipper, have your stupid book, I'm going back to bed!" She thrust the book into his hands. At that moment, Dipper felt his body being lifted off the ground.

"Whoa! What's going on?" he cried out.

Mabel cried out as she grabbed her brother's hands and tried to pull him back down.

"No! Mabel, you have to turn off the portal!"

As the two struggled, both Stan and Ford emerged from the passageway into the room. Their eyes popped open wide with horror.

"What the hell?" Stan yelled as he ran towards his grandniece and nephew. He snatched Mabel by her feet as she still held Dipper's hands.

"Hold on, I'll shut it down!" Ford yelled. He ran through the sliding door. The portal Andrew built should resemble his, so this wouldn't be too hard, right? Unfortunately, Andrew's setup was much different than his. The panel was in a completely different location and the buttons were way different. Plus, he had no idea in what sequence to hit them. And now, he realized why Stan couldn't shut down the portal when he was in trouble thirty years ago. There was only a short window of time to do everything and he didn't have time for trial an error. There was a large button on the panel, but hitting it did nothing. Flipping some switches got the same response. With no other option, he rushed back into the large room. By now, his family was moments away from being pulled through. If they were going to the same place he spent those horrible years...

He watched as all three of them disappeared into the light. Afterward, the light faded and the portal shut down. Ford looked at the contraption with wide eyes of terror. Covering his face with his hands, emotions of grief stuck him. He ran as fast as he could back through the passage and reentered the small study, then back to the upstairs library. Rounding the corner, he saw the large master bedroom, where Andrew slept. His body shook as he pounded vigorously on the huge double doors.

E


	4. Chapter 4: Welcome to the Other Side

Chapter 4: Welcome to the Other Side

Ford kept pounding on the door until his knuckles turned white.

"Andrew! Please open up!" he screamed. Suddenly, the door swung open and Ford almost fell forward by the exaggerated motions of his fists.

"What in the world? Ford, what are you doing?" Andrew asked, aghast at his friend's disheveled appearance.

"Your portal!" Ford gasped. "It got turned on! My brother and my niece and nephew were pulled through the gateway!"

Andrew blinked a few times. "What? You mean it works?"

"Yeah it works—" Then he narrowed his eyes on his friend. "Wait a minute. You never tested it?"

"Well, not exactly. My partner and I finished the construction of it, but no, we never 'tested' it.

"Partner?" Ford asked getting suspicious. "And who is your partner?"

"A college buddy of mine. He's currently out of town."

"Why didn't you guys test—" Ford stopped. Remembering what happened to his long time friend during their test, it was probably for the best that Andrew didn't make the same mistake. "Listen, you need to tell me everything about that portal and we are going down there right now and bringing my family back!"

Andrew stared at Ford with a vague expression; his face was hard to read as his mouth stayed in a straight line and his eyes carelessly stared back at him. Ford felt everything boil inside of him.

"Okay. Let me get something else on," Andrew said. He shut the door.

Ford stood in the hallway, impatiently tapping his foot. When that motion wasn't enough to keep him calm, he began pacing. Where were Stan and the kids? He had tried to keep the images from that other world out of his head, but he had to remember them now. What was the first place he saw when he first passed through the gateway? An image of chaos crept into his mind—a blood red sky, parts of the Earth moved up and down. There were multiple screams and monsters roaming everywhere...

"Damn it Andrew, hurry up!" Ford grumbled.

The door to Andrew's bedroom opened. He changed from his bed robe into a white polo and black pants. Didn't he just have normal dress down clothes? Ford wondered.

"Okay, I'm ready," Andrew said walking towards the library. He turned to his bookshelf to pull the secret book for the passage, but Ford pointed to the already open spot behind the bookshelf.

"What? Amazing! You and your family found my secret passage?"

"How else do you think we got to your portal? And by the way, it was my niece and nephew who found it," he said rather proudly.

Andrew raised an eyebrow. "You have some super sleuths in your family, huh?" He laughed lightly.

Ford shrugged. "And con artists," he added. Andrew squint his eyes unsure of what to say to that.

They made it down to the study. Andrew actually stopped, as he seemed to be in a tour guide mood.

"Well, you've found my private study," he said. Ford kept walking towards the second passage. "Not interested, huh?" Ford stopped, spun around tossing out a hard glare at his friend whose relationship was hanging on by a thread.

"No offense, but not right now! I was serious about dismantling that portal, Andrew. You have no idea what you've caused. Building a portal like that caused a synthetic rift. It's unstable and anything can come through it at any time."

"A synthetic rift," Andrew said as if the term astonished him. "So, that's what he meant—" Ford turned around.

"Who are you talking about?"

Andrew's eyes grew wide. "N-no one, I uh, I mean, my partner—he talked about it, the rift or whatever." Ford eyed Andrew for a moment, before continuing through the second passage.

Finally, they reached the large room where the portal stood. Ford looked at its Octagon shape. Then he asked a lingering question that had been on his mind since he first saw the contraption.

"Where did you find the means to build this thing?" He should have asked them earlier, but he was so taken back by someone else building a portal. After that, he became distracted with his only rational thought that his friend needed to dismantle the portal.

"I had the shipments brought right to my house," Andrew replied.

"Shipments? From where?" Ford asked, raising a curious eyebrow. He had to scout for his parts.

Andrew waved a finger. "Sorry, I can't say. It's a security issue."

"Security issue my ass!" Ford raged. "You risked all security when you built the damn thing!" Andrew withdrew with wide eyes and mouth agape. Ford softened his eyes. "Okay. Forget it. I guess it doesn't matter where you got the parts." He paused in thought. "Do you have a long rope?"

"Rope?" Andrew asked, confused by the request.

"Yeah," Ford replied rather harshly. "I'm not getting stuck over there. I'll tie the rope around me and when I go through, hopefully, I'll see my family and I can pull them back through."

"Okay. I believe I do have some rope. Hold on."

Andrew walked off to the far corner of the room, opened a door and went inside. He returned with a rope of decent length, about thirty feet. Ford wasted no time in tying it firmly around his waist.

"Just so you know, under normal circumstances, I would never do this, but I'm left with little choice," Ford said curtly. "Tie the other end to something firmly planted in the ground." Andrew tied the other end to a metal rod stuck in the floor.

"Start the portal," he said.

Andrew went through the sliding door to the control panel. Ford gazed at the huge portal opening. His heart was pounding so hard. When he went through his own portal by accident, it was one of the most terrifying moments of his life. He knew what to expect this time, but still... And right now, it was the waiting on Andrew to get the damn thing started that nagged at him at the moment.

"Hurry up!" Ford yelled furiously. The motor of the machine roared and the bright light from the octagon shape in the middle of the portal cast out brilliant light. Ford felt himself being picked up. A giant lump formed in his throat. He tried to calm his breathing, as he got pulled closer to the light and finally passing through.

Ford expected violent screams to pierce his ears. However, all he heard was the howling wind. He had his eyes closed with his hands firmly pressed against his glasses so he wouldn't lose them. Daring to open his eyes, he found himself floating inside a white void.

"Okay, not what I was expecting," he admitted. He turned back to see the rope still around his waist, and the rest of it going through the portal. He waited for a moment, floating in a place of nothingness.

"Andrew?" he called out. No response. Well, there wasn't any response from Stanley when he went through the portal thirty years ago. He was in another space and time. Maybe he should pull himself back through. As Ford grabbed onto the rope, he heard a _snap_ coming from the other side of the portal. His thoughts raced. _No!_ Suddenly there was another sharp _snap_ and he fell straight down.

He fell until he landed oddly enough into a large body of water. There was nothing but water for miles. He pulled the rope towards him only to find the other end had broke. His eyes widen with horror. What did that? It looked like it might have been cut with a knife. He put that idea out of his head. That would suggest that... He shook his head.

He treaded water in silence. All of the sudden, he was pulled under. Struggling to get back to the surface, Ford began to panic as he felt himself drown. Then, without warning, came another quick jerk. In the next moment, he got spit out and landed on a piece of smooth rock. Slowly climbing to his feet, he found himself in a cave.

"This is odd," he said to himself. Gathering all the memories inside his head, Ford tried to remember if he'd been there before. "I know I saw many caves in those thirty years. Not sure if I was here." He walked a little before halting at the sound of a group of wild creatures further inward. Ford immediately went for his gun. He moved towards the opening of a smaller cave to see giant spiders wandering about. He wasn't going to bother them if he didn't have to. Instead, he turned around and headed the opposite way. He moved along the cavern wall shifting his glance all around each corner, keeping himself alert for anything that may attack him.

He didn't know if his family was in these caverns. He prayed they weren't too far away. The portal should put everyone who passes through into the same place. However, he couldn't be sure if that was the case. The rift the portal created when his family went through probably was enough to make it unstable, especially if three people went through. Then he went through, probably making it worse. He cursed at himself for even trying this. What was the use of going through the portal if he would end up somewhere different than his family? Then another thought came to him. If the three of them went through together, they should end up in the same place. At least that's what he hoped. Plus Andrew had to bring them back. He had no way to communicate with him, however. Ford's head swam with all these thoughts buzzing around.

 _Focus!_ He chastised himself. _Find the family, and then worry about getting back home._

He calmed himself down just as he heard eight quick footsteps come up behind him. Turning around, he aimed his gun at a spider twice the size he was. He pulled the trigger, however, a bunch of sparks flew off of the barrel. Trying again to squeeze the trigger, only more sparks came out. _His gun was malfunctioning!_ The spider raced at Ford, who only had the option of running. Quickening his pace, the sixty-something year old man ran at the speed of someone half his age. He got ahead of the spider and began to feel confident he could get away—until he saw a group of three more gigantic spiders straight ahead.

When Stan woke up, he couldn't begin to fathom what had happened. One thing he knew was that he grabbed Mabel by her legs as she held onto Dipper's hands.

 _"Hang on kids! I got you!"_ The individual force of the portal pulling them into the portal was too strong. _"Damn it Ford shut this stupid thing off!"_ Apparently, his brother failed to do that in time. He let lose a smirk as it was the opposite of what happened thirty years ago.

"I guess we're even now," Stan said to himself.

The three family members took in their new surroundings. Dead grass lay out before them for miles. Above, a red sky with thick gray clouds hang over them.

"So, we're on the other side of the portal?" Dipper asked. His eyes darted around.

"This doesn't seem that traumatizing. Ford always kept his time in the multiverse a secret," Stan said. Then he fell into deep thought. "I asked him again while we were sailing around in the Artic. He just said, 'it didn't matter.'"

"So, he's still on the other side, right?" Mabel asked with hope filling her round eyes. "He'll just bring us back, right?"

"Well, until then, we should find some type of shelter and make a fire," Stan said, looking out into the distance.

"Uh, Stan, we should find a good source of water," Dipper strongly suggested.

"Right. Uh, water—" He looked around. There was just miles of nothing. "I guess we should start walking."

It was at that moment that Dipper recalled having hold of the book as he was being raised up into the light. He remembered putting it in his vest pocket before Mabel jumped up to grab his hands. Reaching back into his pocket, he discovered the book was still there.

"Hey, this is Andrew's book," he told the others.

"Great, you got the nerd's book," Stan said. "Now what?"

He shrugged. "Well, I can read the rest of it and see what else he wrote."

Stan turned his eyes upwards at the gray clouds. He couldn't tell if harsh weather was coming or not.

"Let's look for some shelter first."

It seemed to go on forever; just an endless barren land lay in front of the three family members. Their feet tread through the harsh terrain, the long blades of dry grass barely gave way as their legs brushed though. A harsh desert wind blew, the breeze cutting their skin.

"Something just occurred to me," Dipper began. "Do we need to be at the same spot where we first came into this world in order to be brought back?"

"The hell is if I know," Stan returned crudely.

Mabel suddenly pointed towards something in the distance. "Hey, I see smoke in that direction."

"Alright, It's the only thing we've got. We still should be cautious," Stan warned.

After walking for several minutes at a time, the family reached the location of the smoke. However, it wasn't what they hoped for. Their six eyes lay on a wasteland of burned houses of what probably once was a quaint village. They didn't see any humans, but a group of some kind of creatures sat by a huge bonfire.

"What are those things?" Dipper wondered. They all studied the figures around the fire. Most of them were large in statue and some were half their size. The light from the flames showed green scaly skin, a lizard-like faces with huge black eyes.

"Maybe we shouldn't bother them," Mabel said.

"Let's leave before they notice us," Stan said as they started to turn around.

They hurried back the other way. It didn't seem like they were noticed at first. Being as quiet as possible, the family changed course and made their way down the hillside. It seemed liked a steady decline at first, but it became a lot steeper really fast, and it became harder to keep their footing. Mabel and Dipper were doing all right keeping their balance, however, Stan wasn't so agile. He was unlucky enough for his foot to catch a small depression in the ground, which caused him to trip. His leg buckled under him and he cried out as he fell into Dipper. The two of them yelled as they landed hard into the dry grass, which somehow felt like concrete.

Mabel ran down the hill towards them. They looked up at her, but the girl's wide eyes gazed straight ahead at two large reptile men staring down at the family, their eyes glowed yellow. The lizard men spoke to each other in a foreign language.

"Uh, so is this the type of community anyone can join?" Stan tried with a wide grin. One of the reptiles picked up the old man with little effort and the other one picked up Dipper and Mabel. The three family members were carried up the hill towards the bonfire and thrown down before the rest of the tribe. One of the lizard men stood, am imposing figure, larger than the rest. The flames only showed its face, more brown in color as the others had greenish scales covering their bodies. He spoke in their foreign language.

"Uh, no speak the lingo, buddy," Stan said swiftly. The creature picked Stan up by his shirt and held him close to the fire.

"NO!" Both Dipper and Mabel screamed.

"Whoa! Hold on!" Stan cried out.

At that moment, Dipper stood up. "Wait a minute! Look, we'll leave if we're not welcome! Don't throw our uncle into the fire, okay?" He tried desperately to get any mercy from these things. Suddenly, the lizard man tossed Stan onto the ground. He turned to the two lizards who brought the family there and spoke to them. They picked up the confused and horrified family and carried them off. All three of the Pines watched helplessly as they entered a large tent. Inside was a small cage, one appropriate for keeping sheep or something like it. With one quick toss, the three family members were rolled into the cage with it locked behind them.

 _Author's Note:_

 _Hello,_

 _After three chapters in, things are going to pick up. I'm brainstorming what different types of things will be found in the other dimension. If you have an idea for a certain type of world or creature, leave it in the comments. I know where I want the story to go, but it's a matter of figuring out the different places and things the family will find._

 _Thanks for reading!_


	5. Chapter 5: Escaping the Trap

_Spiders everywhere!_ Ford's mind raced as he quickly doubled back, heading back the way he came. He headed straight towards the one spider, but it was only one, not three. As he ran, he spotted a few large rocks on the ground. Scooping them up he pelted them at the giant eight legged critter, making contact with its eyes. He jumped passed the creature who was blinded at the moment. Continuing onward, the surprisingly agile for his age, scientist bolted back into the cavern towards the water. Could he possibly swim out of here? Before making that rash decision, his eyes scanned up the cavern walls at the huge spider webs. There were dozens of them and they were connected to each other. On the ground, he found a few long sticks. Taking the longest one, he rushed over to the corner of the web and started wrapping it around the stick. Taking the lighter out of the lab coat, he flicked it a few times until a small flame appeared. He lit the web, which burned pretty fast. He now held a torch, so to speak. He turned as the spider he previously dodged was practically on top of him. It stumbled backwards when seeing the fire, and ran down towards the other two spiders huddled in the corner. Ford began lighting the web around them. It didn't take long until the three arachnids were surrounded in flames. It was still a wet cave, so they fire should die out after it burned their bodies. He stood there a moment, listening to the shrieking cries of those horrible monstrosities. Seeking a new opportunity, the scientist ran towards another tunnel. Using the torch as light, he cautiously made his way, looking out for more mutant spiders.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever. Light from the torch illuminated the path a few feet in front of its carrier. Ford was about halfway down the tunnel when high pitch screeches stopped him in his tracks. He slowly moved along the wall, holding out the flaming web on a stick. The cries of what he assumed were the spiders, echoed through the tunnel. Ford had no idea if he was getting closer to exiting this cavern or if it all led to a hoard of spiders waiting for him at a dead end. Still, he kept moving forward as it was his only option.

The tunnel finally opened up into another large cavern. The scientist's heart fell as he found a hoard of giant spiders gathered around one gigantic web. Maybe he needed to go back to the water and try swimming out. Then his logical mind answered,

 _Swim out? You were in a body of water that didn't appear to go anywhere, and then you got pulled under and somehow pushed up into the cavern. You could swim under the cavern, but not knowing where it will lead, you'll probably run out of oxygen and drown._

He looked over the gang of spiders. He could easily burn every one of them like he did the others. He just needed a way to kill all of them at once. Then his eyes noticed something more horrifying than the spiders. There were at least four huge egg sacks hanging from the web on the cavern's ceiling. From where he stood, there was a jagged part of the wall where he could climb up and move along the thin piece of rock to the other side of the cave.

Putting a hand on the jagged rock, Ford pulled himself up the wall. He made it up to the tiny piece of ledge, which he found out to be thinner than it first appeared. He wasn't sure if he could balance himself, especially while holding the hand made torch. Still, he pushed himself against the wall and inched his way across the thin piece of rock. It was very nerve wracking and it didn't help that down below were gigantic venomous arachnids. As he passed each egg sack, he lit it on fire. The sac fell from the ceiling in a ball of fire, landing on one of the spiders below. It cried out as it was being burned. Ford continued on, lighting a second egg sac on fire, resulting the same way as the first. He looked across the cavern, a silver lining came as he saw the other side. Another tunnel led towards a bright light. Outside maybe? His heart became lighter as he quickened his pace. He was maybe a few feet away when the stone of the ledge crumbled under his foot. Suddenly, the loose rock gave way. Ford fell down a ways. His hands tried desperately to grab onto the wall; his torch fell into the assembly of eight legged critters down below. Grabbing a hold of a jagged piece of rock protruding from the cavern wall, he managed to save himself from falling into the army of spiders. He dared to look down into the inferno of burning arachnids; their screeches were satisfying to his ears.

Using every once of energy he had, Ford climbed back up towards the ledge. Once back on the thin piece of rock, he inched over to the other tunnel. Then all at once, he bolted through the tunnel until he came out the other side meeting a barren wasteland of tall, dry grass. This place struck a memory. He was here thirty years ago. He wandered this place until he passed out from exhaustion and dehydration. He was found however and then he met...her...

As Ford continued into the dead field, he silently prayed that somehow he'd find his family alive.

Stan stood in the cage with his hands on the bars, looking outward. This felt strangely familiar to when he was in prison. He turned to look at his grandniece and nephew.

"Well, this has been an interesting day. I guess this is a good as time as any to ask about what happened back there with the portal. So, how did you two manage to get that thing turned on?" Both Dipper and Mabel instantly turned away from their uncle's gaze.

"Uh—" Dipper let out. "Well, I guess it started when Mabel wouldn't let me read this book," he took out Andrew's journal from his vest pocket.

"I just wanted to see what you were reading!" Mabel lashed out. "Was it really that big of a deal?"

"You could have read it—when I was done," Dipper returned.

"Oh yeah, when was that going to be?"

"I don't know! Since when do you care about reading sci-fi stuff? Or mystery stuff for that matter? There's nothing glittery or filled with kittens in the book, Mabel!"

Stan had his head down with his fingers placed firmly on his eyelids, his teeth grinding at the bickering adolescence.

"Okay, I have two suggestions," Stan began. He looked up at the two teens. "One, shut yur yaps. And two, give me the damn book." Dipper sheepishly handed it to his uncle.

"I'll just keep this for a while," he said as he put it away in his jacket. "So, you two fought over this book? How did you start up the port—" Stan suddenly got deja vu. "The portal started up as you two were fighting," he said very matter of fact. Both teens nodded. Stan turned to the cage door again. There was a padlock on the door. The lock could be easily picked with the right tools.

"Where are my lock picks when I need them?" he wondered out loud. This was a valid question as he usually had them on him.

"I have my hairpin," Mabel said, taking it out of her half ponytail.

"Yeah, that will work," Stan replied taking it from her.

It didn't take long for Stan to work the gears inside the lock, making it click.

The three family members were free, but now they had to get passed those weird lizard monsters. That's when Stan saw the mundane tool in the corner of the room; a poker used for fireplaces. Taking it, he turned to the small fire pit next to it and set the tool inside the coals.

"What are you doing?" Dipper asked.

"Just give me a moment and you'll see," he responded. It didn't take long for the hot coals to heat up the metal tip of the poker. He took it off the coals to show his niece and nephew.

"See, now we have a weapon worthy of being used against a bunch of scaly bastards who thought they could lock us in the most easily escapable prison ever."

Stan tiptoed to the edge of the tent and peeked outside. No one was even standing watch.

"Okay, either they're really stupid or they don't see us as any type of threat."

"So, we can just leave?" Dipper asked hopefully.

"I doubt it," Stan replied looking back outside. The scaly beasts were all gather around the fire. "We can try to sneak out of here, but there's never any promises, ya know?" He looked back into the tent. "Let's see if we can find more weapons first.

"Woo-hoo! Weapon hunt!" Mabel cried. She was ahead of Dipper in finding anything resembling a tool of war. There was only the one poker, which Stan put back into the coals. There was a bunch of stacks of hay. Then she found a trough filled with some kind of slop. "What is this stuff?" she asked. Dipper looked inside at what could barely be considered food.

"This whole setup in here is made for barnyard animals. And those things put us in here, which means they think we're animals," he said in a disgusted tone.

"Well, we're not finding any weapons," Mabel said.

"It's fine. I got this," Stan said taking the poker out of the coals.

The family crept out of the tent. Stan led the way towards the bonfire on top of the hill. From the bottom of the small hill, the family members tried to stay low as to not be seen. They made it most all the way around the hill. No one had seen them. This was almost too easy. Once on the other side of the hill, Stan led the example by bolting across the dry plane with the kids chasing after him. Then, they picked up the pace, sprinting across the field.

Everything was going great until— _snap!_ It was unclear who tripped the trap, but suddenly, the three family members were caught in a huge net.

"Whoa! What just happened?" Dipper's panic voice screeched.

Mabel squint her eyes at her brother. "Well, I think _someone_ wasn't watching where they were going and tripped a wire and we all got stuck!"

"You can't prove I did it. What about you?"

"Give it a rest, you two," Stan said as he struggled to get something out of his pocket. "Just let me get my knife." He pulled out the switchblade and started cutting the rope. "It could have been either of you, because I know it wasn't me." He continued cutting until the one strand of rope broke. "I'll have us out in a moment."

Dipper sighed with relief, but fear overtook him again as he looked down. The reptile tribe stood on the ground looking up at them. One of them pointed to the captured family member, uttering their weird language.

"Uh, Grunkle Stan—" Dipper began.

"Hold on, I almost got this," he responded, not bothering to look at the current problem. Another reptile creature stepped forward, aiming a bow an arrow at the trapped family.

"Stan!" Both Dipper and Mabel shouted desperately.

Stan sighed, rolling his eyes. "What's the problem?" he yelled as he turned to see their captors below. "Oh, those guys—" The reptile archer let go of the arrow, sending it through the piece of rope wrapped around the tree holding the net up. The net fell apart, and its prisoners fell to the ground. The creatures with the brownish scales from earlier stepped forward, staring down his captives. He took the long spear that he held on his back. He raised it upwards with the sharp point at the end pointed at Mabel. All at once, he thrust the spear downwards. The three family members gasped; Mabel screamed covering her head. That's when Dipper saw the poker they took from the tent on the ground next to him. He grabbed the pole and blocked the spear. The reptile man widened his eyes in shock. He swung the shaft of the spear, hitting the teenage boy in the shoulder and sending him to the ground. Stan got to his feet and charged at the behemoth lizard, thrusting the six-inch blade into its throat. Blood squirted out, some got onto Stan's shirt. With a loud screech, the creature fell over, dead. The other scaly beasts backed up, some cowering on the ground while others looked around dumbfounded. Stan pulled his knife out of the lizard and held it up for the other tribal members to see.

"Back off, unless you want the same thing to happen to you!" the old man cried out. Dipper picked up the poker and followed suit with his uncle. None of the reptiles moved. "Okay good! We understand each other!" Stan was pretty good at sounding intimidating. "Come on kids, we're heading out of here." He slowly backed away from the lizard tribe. Dipper and Mabel slowly moved down the path away from the camp, with Stan closely guarding them. Once they were a good distance away, the family sprinted down the dirt path. They escaped one ordeal, but now they were back in the open and barren plane again. Even worse, they hadn't found any water yet, which was soon becoming a vital problem.

 **A/N: Let me know how you liked the chapter. Again, thanks for reading and giving feedback.**


	6. Chapter 6: Contemplation

Chapter 6: Contemplation

Even though the sun wasn't visible, the hot climate definitely could take a lot out of a person walking through the deserted planes. The heat could fully take away anyone's energy and Ford was no exception. He finally pulled out his canteen of water, which he was thankful he took with him. He never intended on fully entering this godforsaken dimension again. The broken rope flashed in his mind. It did look cut... However, he didn't want to believe that it was cut, because only one person could have done it. And if that was the case...

As he walked further, a white fog emerged from the ground. The fog fully engulfed the scientist before he had the chance to comprehend what was happening to him. His mind went back to another time, back thirty years ago.

 _Ford, in his younger years, sat in the corner of the room down the in the base, away from everyone else. He had gathered a bunch of sheets of paper and just wrote notes upon notes of everything he found in this dimension._

 _Selese watched him as he wrote. She tried to keep in the conversation with the others in the room, but ever so often, her eyes went to the thirty-something year old brunette. Finally, she got up and made her way over. Ford sat in a cross-legged position, chewing on the top of his pen._

 _"What else—" he whispered. He didn't even see Selese. She just watched him with her hands over her mouth, trying not to laugh. He was so cute, and the black trench coat complimented him so well. She never met anyone like him before. Finally she sat down next to him._

 _"What are you writing?" Her voice rang in Ford's ears, startling him enough to cry out. He turned to her._

 _"Oh—uh, hi," he said stiffly._

 _"I didn't mean to startle you," she said as she put a hand on his shoulder. This action made Ford jump again and move a few inches away. Selese instantly pulled her hand back. So, he didn't like to be touched. Well, that was sad. She stared at him for a moment. He let out a sigh._

 _"Sorry, I'm not used to being around this many people."_

 _"So, you live like a hermit back in your dimension?" she asked jokingly._

 _"What's wrong with that?" he burst out, obviously not feeling the humor of it._

 _Selese softened her eyes. "Nothing, I guess. But, why? Wouldn't you rather be around people?" Ford turned away, his eyes hardened. "I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have said anything." Selese got up and went back to the others. Ford let out a long sigh. He put the pen back to the paper and tried to write, but now he couldn't concentrate. He looked over at Selese. Why did she care so much about what he did? No one had ever put this much interest in him, not even his own brother. He suddenly grabbed his head. His twin was the last person he wanted to think about right now._

 _Later, he found Selese in her room. She sat cross-legged in meditation. He was intrigued, as he had tried meditation as well. However, he didn't want to disturb her. He began to leave when..._

 _"You can come in," he heard her speak. He turned with wide eyes. Her eyes were closed, how did she know he was there? Ford slowly moved into the tiny room with only a cot in the corner and the plain white rug in the middle she now sat upon. "Sit down," she said._

 _"Uh, where—"_

 _"Just come sit down next to me."_

 _He raised an eyebrow to her request. He sat a good foot away from her._

 _"I can barely feel your energy, move closer." He inched a little closer. "More than that," she said with a small laugh. He inched a tiny bit closer, feeling very awkward._

 _"What are we doing exactly?" he asked._

 _"Just becoming more acquainted with each other." That response wanted to make Ford move further away. Why was she acting so weird?_

 _"I'm making you feel uncomfortable," she said as a matter of fact._

 _"N-no," he lied. "I've just never done this before—uh meditate with another person, I mean."_

 _"It's a very pragmatic way to gain understanding of the other person."_

 _"Oh," he said, still feeling strange. "Well, I already know you. You said you're from a planetary constellation called Sirius. You're highly intelligent and can see into the future."_

 _Selese laughed. "Yes, you have a quick synopsis of my species and my planet, but you do not know fully who I am." That was true. And for that reason, Ford was very leery of her._

 _They sat very still in their meditative poses for a while. Ford lost track of time._

 _Sitting in silence might have not be his best choice. As he sat there, a certain high pitch laugh rang in his ears. He squint his eyes, trying to push it out._

 _ **"Hey! Fordsy! Why are you ignoring me? I've been trying so hard to communicate with you,"**_ _the voice said._

 _Stop it! Just shut the voice out! He tried with his thoughts._

 _ **"Hey Six Fingers! I'm not going away!"**_ _the shrill voice spoke again. Ford clenched his fists._

 _You don't exist! You don't exist!_

 _ **"I don't exist?"**_ _the voice rang in disgust._ _ **"That's just rude!"**_ _Ford grabbed his head._

 _Shut up! Shut up! "Shut up you damn triangle!" Selese popped out of her meditation and turned her head to him._

 _"Ford?" He opened his eyes, unaware the fact he just shouted the last sentence. "You're thinking about him again," Selese said._

 _Ford stared vaguely at her. "Who?" he asked, trying to sound innocent._

 _"Bill. You're thinking about him again," she said._

 _Ford realized he was gripping his head so tightly that his fingernails dug deep enough into his sculpt to leave imprints. Slowly, he lowered his hands._

 _"I don't know if it's just in my mind or he's really there." He stared into Selese's violet eyes for a moment as she returned a warm stare. He felt awkward again and quickly turned away. "Okay, I have a question," he began. "When I fell into this dimension, I thought I saw all this destruction and chaos, then after a moment, it disappeared and I found myself in the field. You told me it was a vision. What was the vision of exactly?"_

 _Selese sighed. "The future. Well, it's kind of a warning of what the future could be. You recall that I told you that Bill is not the real threat. It's the council and they are the ones who make the rules."_

 _"Yeah, and?"_

 _"I thought he was in trouble with the council and that's why they arrested him. But then, he was freed and now you're the target. I don't understand."_

 _"So, this vision or whatever?" Ford tried to keep her on target._

 _"You told me your friend was pulled into this dimension for a few seconds and when you pulled him out, he spoke gibberish."_

 _"My assistant. He said something really strange. 'When gravity falls and earth meets sky, fear the beat with just one eye.' I have no idea what it meant."_

 _"It's the coming of the end of the world," Selese said._

 _Ford recalled his assistant saying that portal they built would bring the end of the world. That's when he quit the project._

 _"Well, I shut down the portal. It's my brother's fault that it started up and I went through it. I hope he's smart enough not to open it back up again," he said scornfully._

 _Selese stared at Ford for a long moment. "He must feel really bad." Ford turned away, clenching his teeth._

 _"Feel bad? For me? No. He only cares about himself!"_

 _Selese went into her meditative state, closing her eyes. "I don't believe that at all. I can feel his energy off of you. He's scared. He thinks you may be dead. He just wants his brother b—"_

 _"Stop it right now!" Ford lashed out. "How could you possibly know anything?" She sat with her eyes closed again._

 _"I know you're angry with him. Something happened between you two. He did something that broke your trust of him. Then you guys didn't see each other for a long time. Then you invited him to your home, but he thought you wanted him there so you two could be brothers again. However, you had other ideas—"_

 _Ford jumped to his feet, staring coldly at the blue skinned woman._

 _"You listen to me. What happened between my brother and I happened because he couldn't handle living his own life. He wanted to drag me down with him on a road that would destroy both our futures. I'm fine with never seeing him again!" Ford started for the door._

 _"You're lying," Selese said. Ford stopped at the door, but didn't turn around. "Also, the vision you and your assistant saw was an event called Weirdmageddon." Ford turned around. His eyes fixed on Selese for a moment, then his mouth actually curved up and he laughed._

 _"What?" he asked. "How do you know about that?" Ford thought back to when he found out the truth about Bill. He heard the demon's shrill voice inside his mind._ _ **"You can't stop the bridge between our worlds from coming, but it'd be fun to watch you try. Cute even—"**_ _Then, in a flash, Ford knew everything about the doomsday event known as Weirdmageddon. Someone touched his shoulder, causing him to jump and smack the hand away. His eyes focused on Selese who didn't looked surprised in the least by his actions._

 _She smiled. "Bill is pretty messed up," she said, not answering the question._

 _"That's an understatement." Ford made his way towards the Arcturian woman and sat down. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you."_

 _She took his hand, a motion that made Ford not only jump, but also practically fall over._

 _"It's okay. I can feel how bad you were betrayed. It may take some time, but you will heal."_

The white fog disappeared. Ford gazed around; his eyes took in the sudden change in surroundings. The barren plane now replaced by a vacant street. Tall buildings with bright neon green lights stood high above him. The more he took in the new place, the more he felt like he was in some futuristic city.

It made the sixty-something year old man nearly fall over from shock. How did he suddenly end up in a totally different geographic location? Then it occurred to him that this happened to him before when he got trapped in between dimensions. He would find another gateway and go into another world. The more he looked around the city, the more it became familiar. The neon streetlights, strange orbs floating around everywhere... This was the place where he found the high tech weapons and other equipment. Then it was possible for him to repair his gun here. As a bright streetlight orb moved in his direction, Ford ducked into a dark alley.

Stan, Dipper and Mabel were a good distance away from that camp. They slowed down to a walking pace.

"So, where are we going now?" Mabel asked.

"We still need to find water," Stan said. They continued on until they saw a change in scenery. The fields ended at a bunch of caves in a mountainside.

"So, this is different," Dipper remarked. "I'm not sure going in there is a good idea."

"It may not be the best idea. However, it is shelter from this heat and we could possibly find our supply of water in there. You have that poker and I have my knife."

"What do I have?" Mabel asked.

"A winning personality," Stan joked. "Just stay behind us." Mabel listened to her uncle, but she wished she had her grappling hook or at least the crossbow. Maybe she'd find something to use in the cave.

The three family members moved further into the caves. Almost instantly, they heard hissing echoing through the tunnel.

"What is that noise?" Dipper wondered.

Stan stopped and put a hand up for his niece and nephew to follow suit.

"Give me that poker," he said to Dipper, who had no issue surrendering the weapon. With the long pole in hand, Stan moved down the tunnel towards a wide opening. The path stopped in front of him, his eyes gazed downward. The sight was interesting enough. Many burned bodies of spiders with a few small ones crawling on the larger one's carcasses. His gaze moved to the tiny ledge. They'd all have to get across that somehow.

"I'm sorry," Mabel said suddenly. "I wish I had my grappling hook. We could lower ourselves down."

Stan looked over the mess of spider bodies. "Uh, it's probably best that we don't do that." His eyes went to the ledge. "I think going across that is our only option."

Stan led the two teens across the ledge. He got rid of his fear of heights, but the possibility of falling still greatly increased his anxiety. Still, he pushed forward, inching along the ledge. His foot caught the small gap where the rock fell away.

"C-carful," he said to his great niece and nephew. "Watch the gap there." The twins didn't have a problem going over the gap. It was pretty smooth and now they went downhill. Stan made it to the other side where he saw the jagged rock making a nice ladder down to the bottom by the edge of the cave. He began climbing down, keeping his eyes upwards. Dipper followed, having no problems. Then it was Mabel's turn. She put one foot on the jagged rock, then the other. As she climbed down, her foot slipped, causing her to slide down the rock wall altogether.

"Mabel!" Both Stan and Dipper shouted. The teenage girl landed on her feet after getting a bunch of scraps from the sharp rock on her arms and legs.

Just then, one of the spiders jumped and landed right in front of her. Stan jumped down and drew his knife. Dipper started climbing down as fast as he could.

"Throw me the poker," Mabel yelled to him. Dipper actually listened and dropped the pointed metal pole, which she easily caught. Stan charged at the arachnid and stabbed in in one of its eyes. The thing screeched and withdrew. As the old man pulled the weapon back, green liquid sprayed out. It quickly recovered and came at him again. This time, Mabel jabbed the creature in one of it's other eyes, making it retreat to the far corner.

"Come on, let's go this way!" Stan said, leading them down a dark tunnel.

"Stan, we can't see anything," Dipper pointed out.

He reached into his vest, pulling out a tiny flashlight, he shinned the light, leading the way.

They made their way into the next part of the underground cavern. Dipper shinned the light further down.

"It opens up," he said. The family walked into the open part of the cavern where they found a substantial amount of water.

"Hey, we finally found our life source," he said as he ran over. As he ran, he tripped over something lying on the ground. He twisted around putting the light on the object. Then, he cried out in horror as he stared at a spider, much larger than the one they just fought.

Stan and Mabel rushed over. "Hold on," Stan yelled as he prepared his knife. But when the two got over there, they discovered the eight-legged critter was already dead. Stan narrowed his eyes at Dipper.

"Great! You got my heart rate up for a dead bug!"

Dipper's breathing calmed as he saw the green liquid goo from inside the spider plastered all over its body along with multiple burns. The three family members looked further down the way to see a bunch more dead bodies of arachnids.

"Someone was definitely here before us," Stan said.

Dipper's eyes brightened. "Do you think it was Great Uncle Ford?" he asked, hopefully.

"Wouldn't my astute brother just shoot the blasted things?"

"Does he have his gun?" Mabel asked.

"He always does, Mabel," Dipper answered.

Stan perked up. "If he was here, that means he's in the same dimension as we are. Hopefully we'll find him soon. For now, we have our shelter and plenty of water.

"We should make sure it's safe to drink," Dipper said. He walked over, cupped his hands and drank the liquid. It was not just fresh, but sweet. It tasted like water mixed with sugar. "Uh, this is weird, but I think it'll work." He took out a canteen and filled it.

"There's some twigs and I have my lighter," Stan said. "Maybe I can make a fire. And for food, we can fry up the dead spiders."

Both Dipper and Mabel responded with grotesque noises. "Hey, can't be picky in situations like this."

Dipper looked at the dead spider a few feet away with its black, burnt, fuzzy body. It was just too disgusting. "Yes, we can." At least, that's how he felt at the moment.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review!**

 **Thank you.**


	7. Chapter 7: Surviving to Fight Again

Chapter 7: Surviving to Fight Again

The ebony sky with a strange greenish glow hung over the vibrant city. Several lit up orbs floated around, each shinning a spotlight onto the streets. People scurried across the street and ducked behind buildings as if they were expecting a bomb to drop onto them. Everyone had a weapon on them, even children as young as eight years old.

After all this time, Ford couldn't believe he was back in this dimension. It was the place he spent the most time in during those thirty years; it was the dimension he was in when Stan brought him back. He still remembered his brother's words as he tried his best to describe this horrid place.

 _How about a thank you for saving you from what appears to be some kind of sci-fi, sideburn dimension?_ Ford laughed quietly to himself. The stuff that came out of his twin's mouth at times. He turned to the tall structure beside him; his eyes fell on the metal door at the end of the alley.

Racing towards the door, he hoped it would either be unlocked or had a lock that he could easily pick. During his last visit, he had to break into a few places while in this dimension. He looked over the rectangular piece of metal covering the door. It was electronic. If he had his electric gloves, he could have used them to short out the electrical current in the lock. He was going to have to find another way inside. Studying the structure of the building, there were three floors, but there were two roofs, one lower roof and the roof on top of the entire facility. Jumping up onto a dumpster, he pulled himself up onto lower roof of the building. There was a bolted frame covering the vent that exhaled fumes from the factory. Everything seemed shut down right now, so it would be safe enough to climb through. He just needed to get the vent cover off. He checked his trench coat for something he could use. His hand came across a screwdriver, probably stored it away while working on one of his projects and forgot about it.

After getting the cover off, he crawled inside the vent. He wasn't quite sure where it would lead him, but he knew he would find his way inside. The vent led him on a linear path to another metal grate. Once he removed it, he peeked his head out into the dark room. The only light eerily glowed from dim neon lights on the ceiling fixtures and from a storing cabinet down below. The cabinet most likely stored chemicals or maybe even the item he sought after.

From the vent, the scientist hung down from the opening and let himself drop somewhat safely onto the floor. The hard landing made his feet burn with minimal pain; barely anything that would hinder him in anyway.

Turning to the glass cabinet, he found rows of a long cylinder shaped electric rods. He tried sliding open the door, but of course it was locked.

 _How am I going to get this open?_

Breaking the class would most likely set off an alarm somewhere. Quickly searching the room, he found more units filled with various chemicals, which he couldn't get a hold of either. His head spun as he searched everywhere, only to find himself locked out of everything. He didn't expect any less. It was foolish to think he could just come into a place like this and just take whatever he wanted without much of a hassle. His eyes fell onto a metal box at the end of a conveyer belt. These were rejected items. Desperate to find something he could use, he stuck his hands inside. It was risky as anything rejected would be unsafe to touch, but he already wore gloves.

After rummaging through various items, he pulled out something he wasn't expecting, a pair of electric gloves like the ones he found in this dimension thirty years ago. The pair he owned were back home, safely locked away in his lab, but these were almost identical. He put them on and they began to glow. Rubbing his hands together, the gloves created sparks. They seemed to work just fine.

Ford returned to the storing unit that held the electric rods. Placing his gloved hands on the lock override the circuit, blowing a fuse on the unit. Now he could grab one of the rods and quickly switched it with the old one in his gun that shorted out. Just a quick pop and the old one fell to the floor, making a loud _clang._ The new one got pushed into the top of the barrel of the gun and now he was all set.

He found the door leading back outside, but as he tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge. There was yet another electronic lock. Ford let out a long sigh. Taking out the pair of his special gloves that harnessed electrical current, he put them on, and then placed each hand on either side of the lock. Waves of electricity flowed out of the gloves and shorted out the fuse on the lock. Quickly, he raced out of the building.

However, just as he emerged, two flying orbs and two officers of the Time Squad greeted him.

"Stop where you are!" A dark skinned man wearing high tech armor authoritatively spoke.

"You are under arrest for breaking and entering a government facility," the blonde haired one backed up his partner.

Ford's eyes quickly scanned the area. There was no way he would just surrender. If he got locked away in the prison of this dimension, he'd never see freedom again. In one swift motion, he dropped his gun and held his hands up as to not appear as a threat. As the two officers closed in on him, lightning erupted from the gloves, multiple streams went into the two armed men and spread upwards, taking out the orbs, which came crashing to the ground. The officers now lay motionless. Ford grabbed his gun and raced out of the alley.

Sirens blared as the sixty-something year old ran along the shadows of buildings, wishing he wore the black trench coat he actually found in this city. Maybe he could find another one. As he recalled, he bought it at a small shop on the boarder of the city. It was unfortunately one of the shady areas of the city, but how could he be afraid when he just took down two armed police and two high tech machines? It would be a long walk to the other side of town; hopefully he could get over there without any more complications.

Stan woke up, feeling a sharp pain in his lower back. Several groans escaped his mouth as he sat up rubbing the spot that ached. His eyes fell on his niece and nephew who were cuddled up together. Scooting over to the two, he poked Dipper's shoulder.

"Hey kid," he said gently. A groan seeped out of the teenage boy as he opened his eyes to see his uncle gazing down at him. Startled, Dipper sprang upwards with a loud cry.

"Geez! Easy kid," Stan hushed him. Mabel stirred away as well, rubbing her eyes.

"I feel really stiff," she admitted.

"You feel stiff?" Stan replied, trying to rub the aching spot on his back.

"I'm hungry," Dipper said suddenly.

"Got plenty of roasted spiders to eat," Stan said, somewhat jokingly.

The twins gazed back at their uncle with disgusted glares. "Hey, I told you we can't be picky in times like this."

At first it was a joke, but as time went by, the family members became famished. Stan was the first to approach the roasted spider. It was sad, but he ate worse things while imprisoned in Columbia. He took one of the legs and tore it off the body and brought it back to the fire. Dipper covered his mouth as if he were about to throw up.

"Uh, so we're having roasted spider legs for dinner?" Mabel asked, a little grossed out herself.

"Yeah. Go grab a leg."

"Oh come on!" Dipper complained. Stan didn't say anything as he put the leg on a stick and put it over the flames. Mabel followed suit and grabbed a leg.

"Seriously?" Dipper whispered to himself. With no other option, he followed after his uncle and sister.

On the outskirts of the city, a tiny, hole in the wall bar sat on a street corner. Those passing by heard the shouts and hollers of the patrons inside. Only the boldest and deemed toughest souls entered. Ford approached the door. He remembered the shop where he got the trench coat was here, but this didn't look like a shop. Suddenly, something crashed through the window, landing hard on the pavement. The scientist turned to see a strange goblin type man bounce back up on his feet, shifting his eyes around and then calmly walking through the door back into the building. Looking through the jagged glass, Ford saw species of all kinds drinking and conversing with one another. _Great._ He thought to himself. At least he had his gun and the gloves now.

Once inside, Ford took in the new environment. A creature resembling a praying mantis stood behind the bar. He walked over with confidence, looing up at its large black eyes.

"Hi there, there used to be a shop here that sold clothing and footwear. Where did it go?" The bug-like being stared down at the gray haired man. It spoke its native tongue, but had a translator connected to his voice box in order for other species to understand him.

"Burned down. I own this place now. However, I do sell some items from that store."

"Oh, like maybe trench coats made of a material that protects its wearer from fire and hazardous waste materials?"

"Perhaps. But I don't sell to just anyone."

"I see. So, whom would you sell it to?" the creature narrowed his eyes.

"Probably not you."

"Well, it was sold to me thirty years ago, buddy," Ford said swiftly.

This got a boisterous laugh from the insect. He suddenly turned to weight on some other customers. Ford tapped his six fingers on the counter in annoyance, then he suddenly pounded the tabletop with his fist. What was he supposed to do now _?_

About ten feet away was a very lively group making all sorts of ruckus. Two big blob-like creatures obscured his path to fully seeing these rowdy drinkers.

"Hey! Pipe down over there!" the bartender yelled.

"Shut it!" replied a rough female voice.

"I can throw all of you out, you know," the insect replied hastily.

Ford walked around the tables to see a group he didn't think he'd ever see again. There, straight ahead, a few feet away were the henchmen of Bill Cipher. He narrowed his eyes as the very thought of that triangle sent him into rage. Yes, he and Stan defeated him with a plan that worked in their favor. However, nothing would ever erase the years he was mentally and at times, physically tortured by that fiend.

Upon closer inspection of the crew, he saw a few of whom he recalled. Teeth, a large pair of chomping teeth, Keyhole, a strange creature with a round head with an actual keyhole in his stomach, Eight Ball whose eyes appeared with the number eight inside of them, and Pryonica, a strange, pink creature with flames spewing out of her body. She appeared as the most interesting one as she seemed to be the only female in the group. All of the critters smoked cigars, but hers glowed, switching various shades of violet and pink. The group appeared to be playing cards, some otherworldly version of Poker. She threw down her cards showing the winning hand, causing the others to groan. Suddenly, she turned and gulped down the strange one-eyed diamond shaped creature next to her.

Ford watched them for a moment. Suddenly, a fireball exploded from Pyronica's cigar, landing a foot away from him. The old man jumped out of the way as the entire table blew up, sending jagged wood pieces everywhere.

"That's it!" the bartender yelled. "Get out of here!"

"Make us!" Pyronica repelled. The seven-foot praying mantis jumped over the bar counter and stomped towards the unruly crew.

"Get the hell out of here!" the bartender bellowed. Pyronica was the first opponent as she jumped right in his path, shooting him with fireballs exploding from the flames of her arms. The insect cried out as he fell to the floor, rolling around, trying to put the fire out. Ford rushed over, taking off his tan trench coat and throwing it onto him. As he extinguished the flames, the henchmen recognized the old scientist.

"Hey, look guys, it's that nerdy guy that build the portal!" Teeth shouted.

"Oh yeah, what's his name—uh—" Eight Ball wondered out loud.

"It's Stanford Pines," Pyronica informed them. Ford turned his eyes to the crew who now approached him. All at once, he stood up, drawing his gun and aiming it at the bunch.

"Ooh, look at him. He's gonna take us all on!" Teeth said before breaking into hysterical laughter.

"Hey, Stanford," Pyronica leaned forward flirtatiously on the table. "Interesting seeing you again. It's kind of strange though without the chains around your arms and legs—oh, and our boss beaming you in the face!"

Ford grit his teeth at the very mention of what Bill had done to him while he was captured.

"Yeah, but your boss isn't here anymore! He's gone for good!" Ford stepped closer, keeping the barrel of his gun pointed at the head of the pink—whatever she was. "And as far as I'm concerned all you bastards can join him!" He shot the gun, sending lightning beams at the pink flamed demon. Pyronica easily jumped out of the way. The beam hit one of the demons resembling the shape of a hexagon. Pyronica suddenly pounced onto Ford, taking him to the ground. She was about to eat him, when a beam of energy shot out, pushing her several feet across the floor into a few chairs. Ford turned his head to see the bartender holding a tiny ray gun in his strange split clawed hand. Suddenly, Teeth and Eight Ball jumped at Ford. In a quick, smooth movement, he rolled away before they could land on him. Once back on his feet, the agile, six fingered man shot two blasts, sending both of them flying into another table. The other patrons of the bar rushed to get away from the fight. Now, every one of the henchmen circled Ford and the bartender. Just as they were about the attack, the front door of the tavern blew open.

The two time squad officers Ford had a recent run-in with, stepped inside. His eyes widened and he took the moment of surprise to run towards the restroom, hiding behind the wall.

"Its the police!" Pyronica shouted. "Let's burn!" She ran towards the broken window with Teeth, Eight Ball and Keyhole following her. The four of them managed to escape, but now the officers circled the area, keeping watch on everyone inside the room.

"Why are you here? This is a legitimate business," the bartender said.

"Yes, but you have customers here who are lawbreakers," the blonde officer spoke very matter of fact.

"Anyone seen this man?" the dark skinned officer asked showing a picture of Ford to the crowd. No one spoke. Ford stayed, hidden, his heartbeat quickened.

"No." the bartender quickly answered. "Now please leave. You're disturbing people."

A flying 'look out' orb floated over, speaking in an electronic voice of the wanted criminals escaping down the street. It showed a picture of the four henchmen.

"Let's take care of this, first," the blonde officer spoke. They raced out of the bar.

Ford began to breath normally again. He was wanted while he was stuck in this dimension four years ago, and now he was wanted again for breaking into that special weapons facility. It appeared if he they had an upgraded picture of him too.

After the chaos settled, the scientist walked back towards the bar where the praying mantis ordered some of his workers to clean the place up. Ford showed earnest eyes to him.

"Listen, I'm sorry about this. I'll help clean up too."

The bartender looked him over. "You said you wanted to get a 'special' type of trench coat. I think I can help you with that. Just help me get this place organized again."

Ford nodded. "No problem.

 **N/A: Sorry, this chapter took longer to write than I planned. I'll at least up date every two weeks. I'm writing other stuff too, so I'm going back and forth. Thanks for reading and if you feel led to leave a review, please do!**

 **I'd also like to thank Barbacar for their profile for Pyronica.**

 **Thanks to everyone who has already left a review and liked and followed my story!**


	8. Chapter 8: Alter Earth

**A/N: Hello, Sorry, it's been a while. I changed a few things in this chapter. Thank you Berrybanana05 for your suggestions. I hope everyone enjoys the rewrite.**

Chapter 8: Alter-Earth

Nothing, but blackness filled his vision as Dipper swam under water. He chose to swim down under the cavern, trying to find a way out, but now couldn't find his way back up to the surface. Panic overtook him as he desperately searched for the opening into the cave. His hand grasped at the jagged rock above him as he kicked his legs, not caring if the sharp edges of the rock formation cut them up. Just as he thought he would lose all the oxygen in his lungs and pass out, his arms found the opening that led towards the surface. He swam up and popped up above the water, gasping for air.

"Hey bro-bro!" He heard Mabel chipper voice.

"Did you find a way out, Kid?" Stan called to him.

Dipper coughed. "N-no," he said weakly. He swam towards them. After climbing onto the cavern floor, Dipper looked at his great uncle and sister. "I'm sorry, there isn't a way out. I almost drowned trying to find one."

"Don't worry about it. I figured we can just go back out the way we came," Stan told him.

The three of them made their way back towards the tunnel where they first entered the cavern. However, when they emerged from the tunnel, they weren't in the tall grassy plains anymore. In front of them was a vibrant city. Their six eyes went up the tall buildings and into the dark green sky. Then they fell to the spotlights from floating orbs moving about the streets.

"Oh, what the hell is this?" Stan burst out.

Dipper put a hand to his chin in thought. "We jumped into another dimension," he said finally. "From what Ford said, when he was here, he jumped into many different dimensions. The wormhole created by his portal made anyone who passed through part of that wormhole." He studied the vacant expressions on the faces of the other two family members. Dipper sighed. "Okay, because Andrew's portal most likely did the same thing, and we passed through it, we are part of the wormhole. We can jump from dimension to dimension," he explained, hoping his great uncle and sister would follow.

"But why can't we control where we go?" Mabel asked.

"Well, we can't control which gateway opens up, but we can control if we go into it or not," her brother said. "We just happen to be at the right place at the right time for this one."

"So, where are we?" Stan asked again.

The three family members focused their eyes on a forest of trees surrounding them. The turned to see a small house that resembled the Mystery Shack.

"Oh my God! We're back home!" Stan cried.

"Uh, I don't think so," Dipper said, pointing at the giant building behind it.

Stan blinked a few times. "What the hell?"

"It almost looks like the Mystery Shack," Mabel said.

"Oh, I see," Dipper concluded. "Great Uncle Ford told me about other dimensions that resemble ours with a few differences. There are even other versions of ourselves in these dimensions."

"So, there are multiple versions of ourselves?" Mabel asked getting excited. "Are we rich in this dimension?" She ran towards the front door of the shack.

"Mabel!" her brother shouted. She was a few feet away from the front porch. "I wonder if there's another Soos here running the shack? Or another Wendy?" she went on. Mabel knocked on the door. Her great uncle and brother joined her.

The door slowly opened. An elderly gentleman opened the door, his neatly combed hair lay perfectly on his head and his white beard covered his face.

"Hi there!" he greeted in sort of a southern accent. "Are you here for the presentation?" The family members exchanged glances.

"The what?" Stan asked, but Mabel butt in.

"Yes we are!" she replied ecstatically.

"Great, come on in. We're about ready to start!" They followed the old man into the living room, which had five rows of chairs facing a monitor hooked up on the wall. Many people in suits sat in the chairs, the ones in the very front row had badges on from various companies and universities. As Stan read them, one in particular popped out. West Coast Tech.

"Uh, what did you say your name was?" he asked the elderly man.

He turned around. "Oh, I'm sorry. Name's Fiddleford McGuckett."

"Wait! You're Stanford's friend!"

"Yeah, you know him?" Then he blinked a few times. "You know, you look a lot like him."

Suddenly, the room went dark. "Ooh, better sit down," he said. He lightly pushed them to some seats in the back. An image appeared on the screen. It was Ford.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman. I'm here to show my life's work. The truth, that there are other dimensions out there. All you have to do is walk through to them." Many people shifted uncomfortable in their seat. On the screen, Ford hit a button on a remote and a light flashed behind him. He moved to the side to show the portal he built. The mouths of Stan, Dipper and Mabel fell open.

"B-but he dismantled the portal!" Dipper whispered to the others.

"Yeah, but, aren't we in another dimension?" Mabel asked.

"So, he never dismantled the portal in this dimension?" Stan asked. "What about B—" He covered his mouth. His eyes glanced around all the well dressed professionals in the room.

"A portal that can lead you into infinite universes. This will forever change science as we know it."

Stan looked over at McGuckett standing by the wall. He took the opportunity to walk over to talk.

"Hey, uh, so, you helped Ford build the portal, right?"

"Yes, I did!" Then the old man narrowed his eyes. "Hey! I'm the only one who calls him that!"

"No you ain't! That's my brother!"

"Brother? I thought you were off sailing around the world."

Stan raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? Ford and I sailed around the world together. He didn't—"

"Wait, is it possible?" McGuckett whispered. "Where did you come from?"

'Oh, I uh—" I came back to see how my brother is doing."

The old man scrunched his eyebrows as he studied Stan. "I've learned a lot about inter-dimensional travel since working with your brother," he said slowly. "Do you know if you meet yourself from another dimension, the two of you will cease to exist?"

"Really?" Stan answered, trying not to let his voice shake.

"So, I hope you are the Stan from this dimension."

"Uh, yeah, I definitely am."

"So, you got rid of the journal, right?"

Stan's eyes sprang wide open. "Uh, the journal?"

"Ford said you took his journal and left to go sail around the world. I hope you dropped that journal into the deepest part of the ocean." The memory of the meeting with his brother on that snowy evening popped back into his mind. Only, he never took the journal anywhere. Images of the fight and Ford being pulled into his portal flash through his mind. Then, he quickly got rid of any fear knowing they put all of that behind them.

"Hey, everything is fine now, okay?"

Stan turned to the screen as his brother kept explaining a bunch of sciency terms he didn't understand.

Dipper listened intently to his great uncle's speech while Mabel let her mind wander. Her eyes landed on a flyer a few seats away. Picking it up, she looked over the words, which were hard to read in the dark room. She left by the back door, which she believed would lead into the shop. Instead, it lead into a long hallway. In the light, she read the bold print lettering.

 **The evolution of inter-dimensional travel**

 **When: Wednesday, July 2, 2012**

 **Where: Pines Science and Technology Inc.**

 **618 -**

The rest was too blurry to read, but she knew it was the shack's address. 2012 was four years ago. It was the first year she and Dipper came to the shack. Of course at that time, Stan was running the shack using his brother's identity. This was definitely another dimension. One that was very intriguing.

"So, in this dimension, Grunkle Ford didn't get pulled into his portal and get lost between dimensions," she whispered to herself. "I wonder where Dipper and I are in this dimension?" Then the answer came to her. "Probably back home with mom and dad," she spoke in a descending tone. "Maybe in this dimension, we never came to Gravity Falls. That's kind of—sad."

"You have no idea." A voice behind her spoke. It was sort of high pitch and nasally. She turned to see a plump man in an orange jumpsuit and a small wave of hair on his head.

"Blar Blar!" Mabel said opening her arms.

"It's Blendin for the millionth time! And you and your family need to get out of this dimension!"

"Hey, we can't control where we go, okay? We're trying to find my other Grunkle, but we found the wrong one, I guess."

"No kidding! And he can't find you guys here! It will ruin everything! You need to go home!"

"Great! You can send us home! But, we need to find my Grunkle Ford first! I mean from our dimension."

"He's not here. He did come here while he was trapped between dimensions, but he left before anyone noticed—I think. You guys need to leave too!"

He shoved Mabel back toward the door she came from. "Please, get your brother and uncle and get out of this dimension! Also, please don't tell your brother or uncle you saw me. I really wasn't supposed to talk to you—"

"Okay! Okay!" Mabel put a hand on the doorknob as she looked over her shoulder at Blendin. "You know us Pines have a way of finding stuff out. We've lived through enough life threatening disasters too!"

"I know." A wide smile suddenly formed on the guy's mouth. "I know."

Mabel walked back into the dark room as the monitor shut off and the lights came back on. Every one of the people in suits stood and began clapping. The man with the badge from West Coast Tech smiled as he quickly wrote down some notes. He walked up to McGuckett.

"Excuse me? Will Dr. Pines be making an actual appearance?"

"Yep. He'll be up here in a moment."

"Great! I wanna talk to my suddenly famous brother," Stan said.

Mabel pulled on his arm. "No, you don't!"

"Hey! What's going on?" Stan asked as his great niece pulled him towards the door. Dipper ran over. "Hold on Mabel. Let's talk to Ford first."

"We can't!" she cried out. He doesn't even know about me or Dipper. And Stan, well, did you guys have a fight in this dimension?"

"I don't know. But, I guess I'm off sailing around the world by myself," Stan said begrudgingly.

"Yeah, so, we can't mess up this dimension's timeline right? So, we need to go!" She ran out the door. Stan and Dipper glanced at each other before following her.

As they walked into the woods, a bright light appeared around them. As this happened, a man in a white polo shirt and dress pants stopped. He rubbed his eyes. The light grew brighter, engulfing the three family members then it fading away, taking the trio with it.

"Don't say anything Tad. Just keep walking and keep your mouth shut," he whispered to himself as he walked on.


	9. Chapter 9: My Renegade Brother

**A/N: Most of this chapter is the same, but I added a part to it. Enjoy!**

Chapter 9: My Renegade Brother

On the other side of the light, the family walked out onto a dimly lit alley.

The three of them studied the area as a group of people scurried under the awning of one of the buildings. In the next moment, a laser beam blazed through the building, causing the awning to collapse onto them. All three Pines watched with wide, horrified eyes. They turned and ran in the opposite direction, while hearing a thunderous laugh. Moving into an alley, the three stood still, waiting.

"So, Genius, can you explain what the freakin' hell that is?" Stan fumed.

Dipper practically hyperventilated as he tried to answer. "No!" Suddenly, the being laughed again as another energy beam struck another building across the way, causing more horrified cries from a group of citizens. Mabel peered around the corner to see a giant floating baby move across the sky. She turned back to her terrified family.

"That baby looks familiar."

"Baby?" Dipper asked. He glanced up at the sky. "Oh my God! Not him!"

"What's up with the baby?" Stan asked, terrified.

"Okay, so Dipper and me went to the future somehow when we were celebrating Soos' birthday at the zap game place. Well, it actually started back when you had that fair, and Dipper was trying to impress Wendy by winning this game, but he couldn't. Then, we met this time traveler guy named Blar Blar!" she tried to recall the bald headed guy.

"Blendin," Dipper corrected. Mabel almost let loose that she saw the time traveler in the other dimension.

"Right. We got a hold of his time travel belt and then we went into the past, kind of screwed some stuff up and then we ended up in some future world and we saw a giant baby destroy stuff with his eye beams and—" Stan just listened to all of this, his face a mix of disbelief and confusion.

"I really don't want to know any more. How do we go through the wormhole again? I wanna go somewhere else! Anywhere else!"

Luckily, the threat moved on down the street away from them. Once the baby was out of sight, the Pines started breathing a little easier.

Dipper turned to Stan. "I know it sounds like a great idea to leave, but first, we have to wait for the next wormhole to open and second, we have to make sure Great Uncle Ford isn't here somewhere."

"Well, where is the Nerd?" Stan burst out. "We'll never find him in this mess!"

"Hey you!" A loud male voice shouted. The family looked every which way to determine who called them. "Over here!" he continued. Dipper's glance fell on some weird bug like creature wearing a camouflage suit and bandana.

"What the hell is that?" Stan cried out.

"Who are you?" Dipper called.

The bug creature made a sideways glance to two other similar dressed creatures like himself. He turned back to the family. "Come on, Pines! Hurry up!"

All three members of the family exchanged bewildered glances.

"He knows who we are?" Mabel asked.

Finally, the one who initially addressed them walked over. Stan balled his hands into fists and raised them as the bug approached.

"Hey! Back off! Unless you want my fists bumbling your face!" Stan yelled.

"No, you don't understand. We have an underground base," the bug slowly explained. "You and the kids will be safe."

"Okay. Now how do you know our family name?" Dipper asked.

The bug blinked his huge black eyes. "Family? Oh, I didn't know there were more of you. Come on, hurry to the tunnel," he said, pointing at what appeared to be a pile of stones and bricks.

"What should we do?" Stan asked his niece and nephew. Suddenly, a booming laugh echoed from above.

"He's coming back again! Hurry! Get to the base!" The bug ran toward the rubble. Stan shrugged and followed with the two teens racing after the strange bug creature.

As the Pines family approached the rock pile, they realized it was an optical illusion. The part that looked like black rock was actually the tunnel. Stan followed the bug-eyed rebel further into the darkness. He was still very leery of this guy who somehow know him and his family. _What's going on?_ He wondered.

Continuing on, the darkness faded into tiny blue lights illuminating the walls of the tunnel. The cyan lights flowed down the tunnel, painting trail for them to follow.

"Ooh! It's so pretty," Mabel exclaimed. "Like a bunch of blue fireflies."

Finally the tunnel opened up into a large room where many refugees hung around. They were creatures of various races, some human, some not. Stan, Dipper and Mabel were awestruck. Everyone in the underground bunker turned to the presence of the newcomers. They fell silent as eyes looked over the Pines family. The whispering began and then someone shouted.

"You came back!" A pale skinned woman ran up to Stan and threw her arms around him. Stan had no idea who she was, but any attention from a pretty female was greatly appreciated.

"Uh, yeah. I came back," he said looking at the woman's brown eyes. "Who are you?" She smiled mischievously at him.

"You didn't forget me, did you? Or the wonderful evening we had together."

Stan's eyes sprang open. "The what?"

"Sir!" A young male voice interrupted. Stan turned to the bug man who led them down there. He saluted Stan. "Glad you are back sir! We're waiting for your orders."

Stan backed away from the woman and put his hands out with palms facing forward.

"Okay, I have no idea what's going on here—"

"Gunkle Stan! It's Grunkle Ford!" Mabel shouted.

"Ford?" Stan got excited. "Where?" Dipper handed Stan a poster with Ford's picture. It was him when he was thirty years younger. "Wanted Alive! Stanford Pines. Reward: Your own galaxy." Stan lowered the poster. I'm confused," he admitted.

"Ford told me about the wanted poster Bill made when he was looking for him on the other side of the portal," Dipper explained.

"Okay," Stan slowly responded. "So, what? They think I'm Ford?"

"Probably. You guys are twins."

That was true and now since Stan lost a bunch of weight, he and his brother looked exactly alike.

"Should I tell them I'm not him?" Stan whispered to his nephew.

"It would be best," Dipper answered.

Stan looked up and met the eyes of the group of rebels gathering around them.

"Uh, look, I'm not—this guy," Stan said holding up the wanted poster. "However, it would be great if we could find him."

Dipper took the poster, showing everyone the picture. "He's my great uncle and his twin brother," he explained.

"Twin brother? There are two of you?" the bug creature's voice squeaked. He was quiet for a moment. "That's great!" He turned to address everyone in the room. "Hey everyone! This man is Stanford Pines' twin brother. He's going help us fight Time Baby!"

"I'm doing the what now?" Stan asked, raising his eyebrows. He, Dipper and Mabel stared wide-eyed at the group of rebels crowding around them, chanting their family name.

"Whoa!" Stan whispered. "My brother got all of these people to follow him?" He looked at his brother's wanted poster again. He remembered his brother's terrified look as he was being pulled into the light of his own portal. Thirty years later he walked out of that portal with hardened eyes, ready to take on anything. He looked over the group of rebels as the cheering died down.

"Well, first we should find my brother," Stan said. "Then, let's work on taking down that baby." He turned to his niece and nephew. "That sounds so weird to say."

The two young twins shrugged. He walked over to the one bug creature.

"What was your name?"

"It's –-" His voice squeaked in a high pitch that made Stan cover his ears.

"Never mind. How about it I call you Joe?" The bug blinked again.

"I like it."

"So, uh, I guess my brother became a badass while in this dimension, huh?"

"He was very intent on taking down the triangle demon," Joe answered.

"You mean, Bill Ci—" The bug covered his ears. "Don't say his name!" He began trembling all over. "He's worse than Time Baby! He probably could get enough power to just disintegrate the infant tyrant. But your brother—wow! He wasn't afraid to go up against that yellow monster. He found some blueprints in a dimension similar to his. He also got a metal plate installed in his head by a guy who was a friend to him in his dimension. He said the metal plate would keep Bill from taking over his mind." "Right, I know that part. Uh, can you tell me more about my brother's plan? I mean, so he decided to take down B—I mean, the demon. You guys helped him?"

"Oh no way! We already have a tyrant to take care of. He was here for a few years, helping us, but then he just left suddenly. We've been hoping he'd come back."

"We're hoping we find him soon, ourselves." Stan walked back over to where his niece and nephew stood. They looked through a bunch of papers and left over parts of some kind of weapon.

"What did you two find?" Stan asked. His eyes scanned over the junk to see a piece of blue paper. Pulling it out, he saw the outline of something that resembled an AK47, but with some type of laser rather than a barrel.

"What's that?" he asked.

"You don't remember it when Ford came out of the portal?" Dipper asked. Stan squint at the drawing. "It the Distablizer, the weapon he made to destroy Bill."

Stan let his head slip into his hands as he fell against the wall.

"Son of a— I had no idea this is what you went through. And you survived."

Ford adjusted the pair of goggles over his glasses. The black trench coat and scarf fit perfectly. He sat alone at the bar now. It was early in the morning and the establishment wasn't open yet. Looking at his new attire, it felt like he really went back into the past. And so his thoughts traveled into the past as well.

 _"I don't get it!"_ Ford's past self fumed. _"How can I make myself move into a higher vibration?"_

 _"It's all about letting go of your past trauma,"_ the sweet voice of his friend Selese answered.

 _"So, I'm just supposed to forget everything that happened to me? I've been used and humiliated by that goddamn demon! I can never forgive him! And as for my brother, I—"_

 _"You can't forgive him either," Selese said sadly._

 _Ford sat on the tree stump in a very beautiful and vibrant forest. The blue skinned woman he made friends with ten years ago stood in front of him._

 _"It is difficult, but you can do it," she pressed. "I know it will be the hardest to forgive Bill. Even I'm having a hard time after what he's done to these dimensions. So, don't start with him. Let's focus on your brother." Ford let out a low grumble._

 _"So, he destroyed your science project, which in return, made it so you didn't get into your school of choice." Ford kept his gaze on away from the woman. She still felt an overwhelmingly great amount of hatred streaming off of his aura. "How would it have been if you did get into that school? What would have changed?"_

 _Ford didn't have to think long about that. "I would be recognized as a great scientist," he answered. "I would have had the connections and the creditability. West Coast Tech had everything! The more I learned about the school, the more I felt it was my destiny to go there. And in one moment—it was all gone. I had to work twice as hard as a lesser university. No one cared about my theories. If it wasn't for my friend—" He thought of his friend and partner he worked on the portal with— His friend who went insane after accidently going through that bright light. "I received a huge grant for my studies, but— I couldn't figure it out on my own, then I made the huge mistake of summoning that demon!" Ford clenched his fists. Selese bent down put her hands gently on his. Her violet eyes met his blue eyes. "I think, the Universe brought you to where you need to be."_

 _"I just don't get it," he admitted._

 _"Don't worry. I believe we were supposed to meet so I could help you."_

The streets were practically empty as Ford emerged from the bar. His eyes caught a few stragglers racing for cover into the next building over. High above, he heard dark, ominous laughter. Looking upward, the scientist saw the most horrifying sight he had not seen in over thirty years. The baby flew over head, laser beams shot out from his eyes, striking the building those people just entered. Debris from the structure fell everywhere and Ford ducked and ran away towards the street, trying to avoid the destruction. He watched as the gigantic baby float away.

Now the full memory flooded his mind, him fighting alongside some rebels who had enough of the tyrant and fought back. With gun in hand, Ford raced down the street, keeping an eye out for the huge threat flying over head or any other threats he may come across.

Stan, Dipper and Mabel ran through the chaotic streets. Time Baby was long gone, but people still panicked and attacked each other, with or without weapons. The Pines family watched as some bearded old man raced at a group of people, jumping on them and biting them. He was eventually thrown onto the ground where he curled up in a ball.

"Aw, that poor old man," Mabel said. She hurried over to him, at the very least she could comfort him. However, as she approached him, the man sprang to his hands and knees and snarled like a ravaged dog.

"Mabel! Get away from him!" Dipper shouted. He pulled back his sister.

"Okay, we seriously need to find Ford and get out of here—" Stan shouted fearfully.

As he spoke those words, he swore someone was calling his name.

"Stanley!" the voice sounded so distant. He put a finger in his ear to try and clean it out.

"Dipper! Mabel!" the voice cried out again. The twins turned to look down the now vacant street.

In the distance, they saw a lone figure in black racing towards them. As he got closer, the family stared at this weird man in a black trench coat and goggles, his scarf covering half his face.

"W-what the hell man!" Stan yelled nervously, not recognizing the stranger.

Suddenly, he lifted the goggles.

"What the hell, yourself, Stanley."

Stan recognized his twin right away.

"S-stanford?" he asked. Ford nodded and smiled. All at once, Stan embraced his brother. The hug was returned, and then Ford moved to his niece and nephew.

"You're okay!" Dipper cried out.

Stan looked over his brother's getup. "Whoa! You look like one of those, what does Soos call them, Anime characters?"

"Wow! Grunkle Ford, you look awesome!" Mabel gushed. "Like some futuristic spy!"

"Yeah, you don't look anything like your wanted poster," Stan said swiftly.

Ford narrowed his eyes. "My what?"

"Oh, you didn't know about this?" Stan asked showing him the flyer.

He stared it for a moment. "This is from thirty years ago. I didn't think anyone still had this."

"We met these people and some were weird bug creatures and they all admire you Grunkle Ford!" Mabel exclaimed.

"Uh, yeah," Stan said rubbing the back of his head as his eyes sheepishly strayed from his brother's. "I—uh didn't realize how popular you became while in the other dimensions."

"Oh, well—" Ford was at a loss for words.

"It's fine. You don't have to explain everything," Stan returned.

"No. I want to—just not right now."

Stan nodded. "Fair enough."

"So, what now?" Dipper asked.

Then, another voice answered, "Now, you are all coming with us!" The family turned towards the deep voice of one of the time officers. The dark skinned man stood next to his blonde haired partner. Three orbs floated at their heads.

"Uh, what's the charge officer?" Stan asked with a big business grin.

The blonde haired officer pointed at Ford. "He broke into a government facility and stole some hi-tech equipment. Plus all four of you have broken the law of physics and created a wormhole that will no doubt destroy the fabric of our existence."

"Uh, if I may," Ford began. "I am a scientist and while it is true a hole in the fabric of time was created, we are not the ones who did it."

"Well, Dipper and I did start the machine," Mabel began.

"Mabel! Be quiet!" Dipper whispered harshly.

"It doesn't matter. You don't belong here anyway." Suddenly, the three orbs shot out a beam, which wrapped around the Pines family, trapping them.

 **"** All of you will face trial for your crimes," the time officer said as the beam squeezed the four family members together and shoved them into a strange oval capsule before it flew away into the sky.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Leave a comment for likes or any suggestions. Thank you for reading.**


	10. Chapter 10: Imprisoned

**Chapter 10: Imprisoned**

 **A/N: Hello!**

 **I wish to thank everyone who has liked/followed and reviewed. This story has reached over 2,000 views! There is a lot more that's going to happen. I still have many more chapters to write.**

The ominous prison stood tall with jagged spires protruding out of the building. The space capsule flew towards a round vent that opened to let it pass through. Three guards stood inside, holding their wide barrel laser guns. The capsule landed on the ground in front of them; a metallic object split open revealing the prisoners.

The members of the Pines family sat back to back with the energy rope still tied around them.

"Put them into the holding cell," the head guard told the other two, who used the electronic gloves to transport the prisoners into the cell. The large metal door slammed shut. A loud beep sounded off and a red light flashed on the door handle meaning it was locked. Heavy footsteps grew quieter as the guards left the family alone in dead silence.

After a long moment, someone finally spoke.

"So, this has been an interesting day," Stan said. He looked down at his right wrist. "What the hell is this?" he asked, his tone weakened as he felt exhaustion take over.

"I don't know," Ford admitted. "Identity bracelets maybe?"

Stan turned to his brother. "Uh, so, is this what you dealt with for thirty years?" Ford responded by pinches the bridge of his nose and grunting. "When I traveled by myself, I kept myself out of the way of the police," he grumbled.

"We're sorry, Grunkle Ford," Mabel said softly. "I mean—Dipper and I are the reason we're all here." Her eyes began to tear as she stared at the floor where she sat.

Ford sudden turned to his family with hardened eyes. "No! It's Andrew's fault! I thought he shut the damn portal down!"

"Uh, he did. We sort up started it up," Dipper said.

"What do you mean?" Ford asked.

"Wait till you hear this," Stan said rolling his eyes. "Go ahead kids, tell your uncle how you managed to start the machine again."

Dipper swallowed hard. "Uh, Mabel and I—" his voice cracked. "Uh, we sort of got into a fight and during the fight, we re-started the portal," he finished clearing his throat. Ford stared at his nephew for a long second.

"What started this fight?" he asked further.

Stan took the book out from his jacket and showed it to his twin. Ford narrowed his eyes at the hardcover. Taking it, he opened to the first page.

"'My name is Dr. Andrew Cartwell, and I have discovered the truth about aliens and inter-dimensional travel. There are so many universes out there that haven't been discovered yet. However, I found a way to walk into any dimension I want.' Interesting. This is his journal." Ford flipped through a few pages. He studied pictures of extra-terrestrial beings. While looking at these pictures, the scientist thought about how he actually drew the pictures of all the anomalies he saw. However, Andrew managed to find actual photographs.

"Where in the world did he get these photos?" Ford asked out loud.

"That's what I wondered," Dipper replied.

"Maybe he's met some aliens," Stan said as she shrugged his shoulders.

"Aren't those reptile creatures we saw in the other dimension, aliens?" Mabel asked.

"Reptile creatures?" Ford asked.

"Oh yeah. We had a run-in with some scaly bastards back in that wasteland," Stan said.

"You're talking about the beings who resemble lizards. They reside in eleven different dimensions. I think some of them were traveling between dimensions—

that's what that dry grass wasteland was by the way." As Ford explained all of this, his family stared in awe at him.

"So, what are they known for?" Dipper asked slowly. "When we met them, they first tried to burn us alive, then they decided to toss up in a cage that would more likely hold Gompers and Waddles than the three of us."

"Yes, those large lizards live like nomads, in tribes and claim anything they can. Humans are seen as a source of food to them."

"Oh, well, that's nice," Stan said sarcastically.

"Maybe we should focus on our current situation?" Dipper said gazing around the steel cell that imprisoned them.

"Yeah, shouldn't we plan a prison break?" Mabel asked, then started chanting, "Prison break! Prison break!"

Stan joined in, both of them raising their fists in the air. "Prison break! Prison break!" they both chanted.

Ford let out a groan as he shook his head. "Yeah, just let every guard within earshot hear you."

"Hey, trust me. We want the guards to come. It's how I broke out in Columbia," Stan said as he pounded on the big metal door. It didn't take long until heavy footstep stomping towards the door. Suddenly, it swung open, almost causing the old man to lose his balance. Two guards appeared with wide-barrel laser guns pointed at the family.

"What's going on in here?" one bellowed.

"We don't need prisoners causing problems," the other one followed up.

"Who? Us?" Stan asked, playing innocent. "No. We were just singing a song that's very popular in our dimension."

"Well keep it down!" roared the taller of the two guards. "Your trial will come soon and it will be worse if we add that you're unruly prisoners."

"Oh, don't worry, we'll be good," Stan said. He was noticeably closer to the guard now. "No hard feelings," he placed a hand on the guard's shoulder, who in return slammed him onto the ground. Ford gasped as the guard practically sat on his brother.

"Stop! We won't make any more noise!" he cried in desperation. The guard got off of Stan, now staring hard at the entire family.

"I hope not, for your sake!" The two officers left. Ford turned to his twin now.

"Well, I'm not sure what you were trying to accomplish, Stanley."

Mabel raised her hand holding a metallic card. "How about this?" she asked with a smile. Ford and Dipper had the same reaction as they stared wide-eyed at her.

"What? I didn't even see you take that," Dipper said.

"No. Because everyone was focused on Grunkle Stan," she replied.

Stan kept a wide grin on his face. "I'm great at distractions," he said boastfully.

"I guess we won't get our trial," Dipper said cheerfully.

"It wouldn't have been a real trial," Ford responded. "More like a quick execution as that baby shot us to bits with his eye beams."

Mabel swung the key card over the electronic door lock. The light flipped from red to green and the metallic door slid open.

The family gazed down a corridor of bright white walls. The color was so vibrant that it hurt their eyes. Fluorescent lights glowed in every direction.

"Okay, where do we go from here?" Stan wondered.

"There's a vent up there," Mabel said pointing towards a grate painted white as the rest of the area.

"I don't see a vent," Dipper said.

"I guess I just have an eye for seeing things even when they're brightly colored," she responded.

"Okay, first, white isn't actually a color, its a value. Second, how are we getting up there and removing the vent cover?"

"I wish we could shoot it off," Stan said.

"Well, one, that would be too loud and attract attention," Ford began. "Two, those guards took the gun and my gloves."

"I know how we can get up there," Mabel said. "I can get on Dipper's shoulders, and Dipper can get on Grunkle Stan's shoulders."

"Wait, I gotta hold the two of you? You're not twelve anymore, kids."

"Well, we gotta try," she urged.

In the next few minutes, the three of them made a human ladder up to the vent. Mabel looked over the cover. It appeared to be held tight with a few screws.

"We just need to get these metal screws off ad we can open it," she said.

"Oh, that's it?" Stan asked as he tried to keep his balance while supporting his niece and nephew. He pulled out an Allen wrench and handed it up.

"They didn't take that from you?" Ford asked.

"Why would they? It's not considered a weapon. Besides, I really had it hidden."

"Where exactly?" his brother pressed.

"Not sayin'" Stan answered wistfully.

Mabel actually got the vent cover off and dropped it into Ford's hands. "Wow! I'm impressed by your breaking and entering skills Mabel," he said, then added. "And horrified at the same time."

Once everyone was inside the vent, the next question came of which way to go. "I feel air coming from this direction," Dipper said. "Maybe it leads outside?"

"I guess we can try," Ford replied.

Dipper led the way inside the venting system. They finally came to another ventilation cover. He looked down to see a surface they appeared safe. He used the wrench to remove the cover and everyone easily crawled out.

Everyone stood on a round vent blowing cool air upward. All around them were rounded walls forming a circular room.

"Well, this isn't what I expected," Ford said furrowing his brow.

"Should we go back into the vent?" Stan asked. Just as he finished the sentence, the vent stopped blowing air and suddenly dropped down like a trap door. The family members cried out as they fell down a tube.

Everyone landed onto the cold tile floor, getting the wind knocked out of their lungs. Dipper and Mabel were the first to move to a sitting position. Their eyes jumped to their uncles who appeared lifeless. Dipper hurried over to Stan, and Mabel sat by Ford, gently shaking him.

"Grunkle Ford, are you okay? Wake up!" she wailed.

Dipper tapped Stan on his shoulder. "Stan! Stan?" he tried to get the old man to stir. Ford was the first to open his eyes. His body shot upwards and his hand went for his gun, which he realized wasn't there anymore after being confiscated. Mabel grabbed his hand.

"It's okay! Grunkle Ford! It's okay!" His eyes slowly moved to his great niece. "Where are we?"

Stan finally moved, a groan escaped from his mouth. "Did we make it out?" he asked hopefully.

"Not quite," said a voice. The four family members turned towards the sound. The two time officers that originally captured them walked forward. The dark haired officer with his blonde haired companion were not alone as six other officers stood behind them, all bearing laser guns.

"Just so you know, an alarm went off after you exited the cell. Those bracelets track every step you make," the dark skinned officer stated.

Now the two officers headed towards the family.

"Forget this!" Stan shouted. He surprised the blonde haired time officer as he grabbed for his gun. "You're not throwing us back in the slammer!"

Ford followed suit, trying to grab the gun from the dark haired officer. He managed to grab ahold of the gun's handle, but the officer had a tight grip on it.

Dipper and Mabel watched their uncles struggle, then gazed at the other six officers just standing there holding their firearms.

"That's really weird. Why haven't they attacked us? We're clearly out numbered," Dipper said.

"Don't worry about that, we have to help our Grunkles!" Mabel ran over to help Stan as Dipper ran to Ford's aide. With the two teens distracting the time officers, both uncles were able to grab their guns. Stan spun around, delivering a harsh blow to the side of the officer's face while Ford pistol whipped the other one. Now the other six officers stepped forward, raising their guns.

"Oh, now they're doing something?" Dipper said.

"They were just waiting to see what happened with these two," Ford said staring down at the two knocked out officers.

"Actually, they're waiting for my command," a distant voice echoed into the room. The voice sounded vaguely familiar. In the next moment, all six officers shot their guns, engulfing the Pines' family in clouds of toxic vapor. The four passed out immediately.

 **Hello readers!**

 **Starting this chapter and future chapters, I'm going to do the codes at the end.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Code: 8,12,14,22,12,13,22/ 21,16,14,18,15,26,9/ 4,26,18,7,8/ 18,13/ 7,19,22/ 13,18,20,19,7/ . 13,12,7/ 18,13/ 7,19,22/ 8,19,26,23/ 12,4,8/ 25,6,7/ 18,13/ 25,15,18,13,23,18,13,20/ 15,18,20,19,7.**


	11. Chapter 11: Betrayal

Chapter 11: Betrayal

 _A small army of reptiles stood in the tall grassy field. Most of them were at least seven feet in height brandishing sharp spears and covered in hard leather armor. Raynard led his group of rebels towards them. Many in the group looked unsure of how this was going to end._

 _"We have guns. They have spears," he had told his group of fighters. "This will be an easy battle."_

 _Ford walked alongside Selese whom he sensed was very frazzled right now. She usually was so calm even during a fight, but right now, she kept her gaze forward as her lips trembled._

 _"Are you okay?" he whispered to her. She didn't respond, which really worried him. "Selese?" he tried._

 _Rayard stopped and everyone halted behind him. He looked towards the tallest one who was no doubt the leader._

 _"If you want a fight, you're gonna get one!" he yelled. "You may out number my clan, but as you can see, we have superior weapons." The reptile leader pointed passed Raynard, straight at Ford._

 _"Him," the being uttered. They only knew a few words in the 'common' language used in this realm, so they spoke one-word requests or responses._

 _Raynard turned towards their newest member. Before he answered, Selese beat him to it._

 _"What do you want with him?" she asked hastily._

 _"Reward," he answered. He held up Ford's wanted poster._

 _Of course. Ford thought gloomily to himself. Selese aimed her gun at the leader._

 _"Well, you're not getting him!"_

 _"Selese! What are you doing? Stand down!" Raynard growled._

 _Selese didn't budge. "I said stand down!" Raynard yelled louder._

 _"And what? Let these fiends take our comrade?" she asked crudely._

 _Raynard suddenly grabbed Selese and shoved her onto the ground. Ford reacted very quickly aiming his gun at the spiked skinned being._

 _"Go ahead and shoot me, you lower class meat sack! You had to know that you were expendable!"_

 _"Run Ford! Get out of here!" Selese yelled._

 _Light glowed from all around her until it exploded, blinding everyone. She grabbed Ford by the hand and the two kicked their legs as fast as they could away from the angry shouts of the reptile army._

The Pines family awoke, chained up in a room of bright fluorescent lights. They all tried to shield their eyes from the light, but the reach of the chains around their wrists wasn't long enough. Dipper's eyes adjusted so he could at least see electric beams surrounding him, keeping him inside a small tube-like prison. If he moved too far in any direction, he was pretty sure he'd get a huge shock from those beams or worse. Turning to the left of him, he saw Mabel in the same type of prison a few feet away.

"Mabel!" he yelled.

She turned with slanted eyes. "Ack! Dipper is that you? Why is it so bright in here?"

"Wow! It's even too bright for you? Usually you like this type of bright," he said lightly.

"Not this much," she answered.

"Kids?" they heard Stan's gruff voice. "Oh God! It finally happened. The cataracts completely took over and now I'm blind!"

"It's like this for all of us Grunkle Stan," Dipper responded. He turned the opposite way to see his other uncle still passed out.

"Hey! Great Uncle Ford!" he shouted.

"Hey Poindexter!" Stan yelled. Ford's eyes fluttered open. He shook his head, and then glanced at the rest of his family stuck inside electric cages. He tried moving his arm, and legs, but found them bond by thick chains.

"What the hell just happened?" he gasped.

"My, my, Stanford." A mild voice cooed. "I thought you were smart. Can't you figure it out?"

Ford narrowed his eyes, focusing on a lone figure walking towards him. When the man came into focus, Ford felt a sudden shock rise from his toes to the top of his head.

"A-Andrew? W-why are you here?"

"Why am I here?" his usual casual tone dramatically changed to harsh grinding. A maniacal laughter erupted from within him. "You don't know?" He gazed at Ford's clueless expression. "Oh, you really don't know. Well, that's disappointing. I'm here because I have a portal that can take me anywhere I want. You're here, because you and your family are idiots and you fell for my trap."

By now, Stan's emotions began to boil over. "Oh, so you were evil this whole time? Well, I'm not shocked!" He glanced in his brother's direction. "We did try to warn you, Ford."

"Actually Stanley, Dipper was the one who was suspicious."

"I was too! Don't you remember back at the shack. I was like, 'why is your friend getting a hold of you now after all this time? And you're like I don't know, maybe he just wants to catch up. Well I guess we're all catching up now!"

"I guess I can ask now, Andrew," Ford began. "How did you get my cellphone number? You sent me a text message."

"Text message? I sent you an email, which I got from the sign up list at the Worldwide Scientist Convention last year. You didn't even know I was there, did you?" Ford was about to respond, but Andrew cut him off. "You're telling me you can't tell the difference between a text message and an email? Have you been trapped in another dimension for thirty years or something?" Ford turned away. "Oh, right. I guess you were." He laughed crudely thought his nose.

"Wait, how did you know I—"

"Went to another dimension? Well, I just found out actually. I've been communicating with some dream demons from this realm and they all seem to know you very well."

"Wait, I only know one dream demon and he's—" Ford thought about the yellow triangular dream demon he made a grave mistake in making a deal with, but he got erased...

"I'm not talking about Bill," Andrew said coyly.

All eyes of each member of the Pines family shot wide open.

"H-how do you do about Bill?" Dipper shouted.

"Oh, I think anyone who has spent time in the multiverse and is paying adequate attention knows his name. I never met him, however. Although, I am aware of the deal you made with him, Fordsy—that's what he called you, right? Such a cute pet name!" At those last words, Ford gritted his teeth and tried to lunge at Andrew, only to be held tight by his restraints. "Anyway," Andrew went on, not at all concerned about Ford's rising anger. "I'm working with a different dream demon. Bill is a little too silly. I'd rather work with someone more serious and predictable."

"So, what did this other dream demon promise you?" Ford finally asked.

"Oh right, like I'm going to share that with you. You'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, you can just hang around here."

"Where is here?" Mabel asked. "Aren't we in that future place?"

"Oh, you're in a new dimension now. This is my partner's world, I guess he calls it his Dream Realm. Geez kid, by the way you speak, I can tell you didn't get the intelligence gene. Well, then again, your great uncle here isn't as smart as he thought he was—I mean, how did you screw up your chance to get into West Coast Tech, Ford? I thought that science project of yours was going to redefine the definition of Physics." Ford wanted to scream at him that it wasn't his fault. However, he didn't want to bring up the event that detached him from his twin brother for ten years.

"It was my fault," he suddenly heard Stan's voice. He turned towards his brother with genuine eyes.

"Stanley, you don't have to—"

"It was my fault!" Stan said firmly. "I got angry and maybe even jealous that my genius brother was going to a big name university while I would probably end up working at a fast food joint all my life. I ruined his science project and he didn't get into that fancy smancy school!" Andrew studied Stan for a moment.

"You're saying that he should have gotten in?" the sinister old scientist asked.

Stan gave a short laugh. "He definitely would! And I'll tell you one thing, if he did go to that school, he would have been the top graduate, not you! He would have knocked your sorry ass out of first place of anything! You're the idiot!" he finished triumphantly.

"I don't have time to match wits with you. In fact, it would be a waste of time to do so! None of you know the bounty on your heads. In many ways, I can't believe you're the family that defeated Bill. I'm really floored. It shows that the dream demon really wasn't much of a threat at all." Andrew began walking away. With each step he took, he felt the hardened eyes of the four family members searing into him. He ignored a feeling of impending doom as he swore he could feel each one of their death stares. _Maybe I over did it._ He thought to himself.

 **NA: Okay, so I know the big reveal with Andrew was obvious, but now the question is, 'why is he doing this?' and 'what's going to happen next?' Also, I hope everyone likes where the story is going. Please leave a comment for likes or dislikes or any suggestions for the story. I haven't seen a review for a few chapters, but I see people following the story, so that's great!**

 **Thanks again for reading!**

 **2; 22; 8,/19; 22/4; 26; 8/12; 25; 5; 18; 12; 6; 8,/ 25; 6; 7;/7; 19; 18; 8/ 4; 26; 8/ 21; 26; 8/ 7; 12/ 4; 9; 18; 7; 22.**


	12. Chapter 12: The New Advesary

Chapter 12: The New Adversary

 _Ford and Selese had been running for a good amount of time when they slowed down into a fast paced walk. Dark gray clouds floated overhead in the stormy sky. Droplets of rain poured down onto the couple._

 _"Where are we going?" Ford asked._

 _"We need to jump dimensions," she responded._

 _Among the grassy field, the two came across a few homes that once stood tall and strong, but now most lay in burnt rubble. One house still had four walls and a door slightly off its hinges. As they approached, Selese suddenly pushed Ford inside._

 _"What are you—?"_

 _She hushed him. Just as they entered, two reptile men rounded the corner of the house. Selese pointed at a pile of rubble that had fallen, creating a barricade._

 _"Go behind there," she instructed. He listened and the two crouched down. The reptiles kicked down the busted door, their eyes scanned the ruins. They were inches away from where the fugitives sat, huddled under a bunch of burnt wood. Finally, they left._

 _Selese and Ford made their way across the field. Suddenly the alien woman stopped, put her hands together and hummed as she meditated. A light formed around her and spread out towards Ford. As they stood, engulfed in light, Ford felt himself become lighter. It was a comforting feeling, like the one he had as a child, playing with his twin back in Glass Shard Beach. When the light faded, Ford looked around. Looking at his feet, he started to panic. There was nothing under him!_

 _"Don't worry. You're not going to fall," Selese assured him. We are in Dimension 52, a higher dimension where the beings are very advanced mentally."_

 _"Why are we here?" Ford asked._

 _"There's someone here, you need to speak with."_

A cloud of blackness surrounded Andrew as he entered the room. He was still on edge. Taunting Ford and his family was not as satisfying as he thought it would be. In fact, he now feared he awoken a sleeping beast. His tired, old eyes searched the dark room for his mentor.

"Octavius?" he called.

"Andrew—" a deep voice replied. "I have been told that the members of the Pines family are here in captivity. Is this true?" Andrew nodded. "Good. Have you been to see them?"

"I-I have," his voice trembled.

"We're they shocked?"

"A little—yes." Stone cold eyes of the family members pierced his mind for a moment. "Uh, so, what are you planning to do exactly? You're going to g-get r-rid of them?" Andrew stared into the darkness where he barely saw an outline of the round shape floating up above.

"It sounds like you're afraid of them," the circular being responded. "I am rather curious of the ones that destroyed the rebel triangle."

"They are an interesting bunch. You've got two old men who don't seem to fear much and their intruding teenage great niece and nephew who think they're top rate detectives. I mean, how did those two find my study—"

"Enough of your ramblings! All of you humans are too emotional." Andrew grit his teeth. "In any case, I look forward to meeting the Pines family," Octavius said as he floated over Andrew's head towards the edge of the black mist.

The eyes of the four family members finally adjusted to the bright lighting in the room so they could better make out their surroundings. If the electric waves forming the bars of the cages were not intimidating enough, chains around their wrists and ankles bound the prisoners.

"These chains seem a little excessive," Mabel said finally. We're already in these weird cages."

"I've been studying the electrical current and its possible to shift the energy and make the bar disappear," Dipper told her.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Well, I need something to put onto the energy beam that won't get destroyed by it," he explained. "Maybe something metal." Mabel looked up at her headband.

"My headband has a metal frame," she said. "But I can't reach it."

"You're headband is mostly plastic anyway, so I don't know if it would work."

"What are you two yammering about over there?" Stan called.

"Another jail break!" Mabel shouted.

"Stop being so loud when you say that!" Dipper chastised. "Wait, I think I have something that could work." He tried to pull his hand towards his pants pocket. He sighed heavily. "I can't reach it."

"Forget it, Kid," Stan grumbled. "There's no way to get out of this." His eyes jumped across the room towards his brother. Ford hadn't said a word since Andrew left the room.

"Hey bro, you okay over there?" Stan called.

"I never thought he'd do something like this," Ford answered softly. "I fell for yet another scam artist."

"It's okay Ford—" Stan tried.

"No it's not!" he shouted. "At least what happened with Bill just involved me. But this time, I put you three in harms way!" Ford grabbed his head as he slid down the back of the cage. Everyone was silent, then...

"It's my fault," Mabel said. "I started the fight with Dipper and started the portal." A tear fell down her cheek. "We're all here because of me!"

Dipper sighed. "No Mabel. It's my fault too."

Stan gazed at his grandniece and nephew, then switched to his twin. "Okay, I'm getting us outta here!" he said triumphantly.

"How are you doing that, Lee?" Ford asked. If it had not been for the restraints holding the old man up, he would have fallen over. The last time his brother called him that was back when they were kids and Stan had to fight off the bullies picking on them. It took him a moment to regain his composure.

"I've got something up my sleeve," he said, pulling out something small, resembling a metal toothpick. He pushed the tip into the lock of his shackles and twisted it around. However, it seemed he was struggling. "Maybe I should have done the other one first. My hearing is better on that side. Come on—" There was a click and his hand was free. The eyes of his family members brightened. Stan repeated the process for the other side achieving the same result. He continued to do the same for his ankles until they were freed.

"Okay, I'm out of my chains," he said proudly. His glance now studied the electric bars. "So, how do I get passed these?"

"Do you have something metal?" Dipper asked.

"I have my lighter," Stan responded.

"Try pushing it into one of the electric waves."

"Are you sure it won't get destroyed," his uncle asked.

Dipper shook his head. "I don't know. You'll just have to see if it works."

Stan swallowed hard. "O-okay." He placed his silver plated box on the floor and edged it towards one of the beams. He closed his eyes and turned away, wondering if the lighter would explode, taking out everything and everyone in the room.

When the lighter box made contact with the energy beam, it shot right back at Stan. He ducked just in time as the lighter hit the back of the cage and slid to the floor. Stan sighed. "Sorry, kid."

"Use the lock picks, Grunkle Stan," Mabel suggested.

"I don't think it'll work," Dipper responded.

"What's running these beams anyway?" Stan asked. His eyes looked up the cages he and his family were held captive. They were placed in a circle with energy beams from each cage flowing up to the ceiling where there was a big glass orb holding the energy waves. "Maybe we can destroy that globe thing and it will get rid of the beams."

Dipper looked up. "How did I not notice that?"

"How are we gonna break it?" Mabel wondered. Dipper looked over at Ford.

"Hey Great Uncle Ford, you can figure this out, right?" Ford turned with solemn eyes. He shrugged. "If I had my gun, I could shoot it, but I don't."

"Well, think of something else," Dipper tried.

"What would happen if I used the flame from my lighter?" Stan asked.

Dipper turned with an open mouth and wide eyes. "Uh, I wouldn't—"

"Do it!" Mabel yelled.

Stan flipped the top of the box, igniting a flame. Everyone, (including Stan), held their breath as he held the flame against the energy beam in front of him. The beam sucked in the flame, turning the energy from blue to red. The red energy continued up the electrical wave to the top of the cage, flowing up and into the orb at the top of the ceiling.

The energy inside the orb became crimson, the shade of red brightened until finally the entire orb burst. As predicted the energy beams of all the cages flashed a few times before completely shorting out. Not only were the electronic bars gone, but the shackles around their wrists and ankles snapped open.

"We're free!" Dipper exclaimed.

"You did it Grunkle Stan!" Mabel cheered.

The four family members stepped out of their cage and met in the middle of the room. Even Ford had a big smile on his face as he looked at his brother.

"Great job, Stanley," he said.

Stan shrugged. "I'm good at making stuff explode. Remember back in our high school Science class?"

Ford nodded and laughed. "Yeah, you always found the right chemicals to mix that would cause something to catch on fire."

"So, now what are we doing?" Stan asked.

"Now, you're whole family is going to pay for wrecking our chance at global reign and destroying our leader!"

The Pines family turned to see a strange creature with a pink body and flames flowing around her body. She was accompanied by a pair of teeth and a goblin like being with eight balls for eyes.

"Yeah, you're in our world now!" Teeth taunted.

"Oh, you guys again," Ford said, not at all threatened.

"Wait! Aren't those the guys who worked with Bill?" Dipper asked.

"Hey Pinetree!" Pyronica greeted.

"Don't call me that! I don't even wear that hat anymore!" Dipper shouted in a streaming rage. The only response he received was the laughter of the Henchmaniacs.

"Just stay away from my family!" Ford shouted.

"Oh, and what are you going to do?" Teeth taunted some more.

The scientist went for his gun, but stopped midway remembering once again he didn't have it. _Damn it!_ He turned to the rest of his family who were as defenseless as he was.

"Actually, I am very interested in what your whole family can do, Stanford," a deep voice echoed throughout the chamber.

The family members grimaced and grit their teeth fearfully as they turned towards the floating turquoise octagon floating into the light.

 **Code: Flufohv zloo uxoh doo zruogv!**

Hint: kcab srettel eerht

 **A/N: Hello, Sorry, it's been a while since the last chapter. I'm also working on a few other stories. I've found new inspiration for this story, so I'm going to keep going.**

 **Thanks again for reading and feel free to make any suggestions.**


	13. Chapter 13: What Doesn't Kill you

**N/A: Hello again,**

 **I feel I need to give this warning. This story is already rated T because of its content, but this chapter will contain violent scenes with guns and torture.**

Chapter 13: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Go Insane

 _High up on a mountaintop the air was very thin. Selese turned towards Ford and smiled. She stifled a laugh as his eyes were closed so tightly and his face scrunched as if he expected someone to strike him._

 _"The beings of this plane call this place Olympus," Selese explained._

 _"Olympus? Mt. Olympus? From Greek Mythology?" Ford asked._

 _"Uh—" she cleared her throat. "Humans always come up with interesting stories and think they are pure fiction. You know, writers see things in their dreams and then write about them. They believe what they saw wasn't real, but just in their minds. However, sometimes we see into other worlds while we sleep."_

 _"Alright. So, what are we doing here?" As he asked that, a giant creature about seven feet tall with numerous eyes, wearing a robe looked down at the two of them. Ford placed a hand on his gun; Selese stopped him right away._

 _"She is a friend. Plus, it wouldn't be a good idea to attack anyone here as they could destroy you with just a thought," she warned. Ford returned a slow nod. His eyes scaled up the creature until they landed on her face. Suddenly a voice boomed inside his head._

 _ **"I am the Oracle. Welcome Selese of Sirius. Welcome Stanford Pines of Mother Gaia."**_

 _Ford shook his head. What was that echoing inside his head? He gazed at the face of this creature again. He turned to Selese who just stared at the being. Was she going to say something? Ford opened his mouth to speak and realized he could not. As he opened his mouth, he could only gasp. Maybe the air was too thin for him to speak, but they were speaking normally a moment ago. Maybe it was the presence of the Oracle? How was he going to communicate? Then the same booming voice continued inside his head._

 _ **"You need only to think a thought and I will hear it."**_ _It was then that he realized the multi-eyed creature spoke to him telepathically. So, he tried sending her his thoughts._

 _ **"Hello—Nice to meet you—"**_

 ** _"You don't have to shout," her voice replied._**

 _Was I shouting? He wondered. He looked at Selese who kept staring at her. Finally, the Oracle turned and floated up a white marble staircase. Selese followed with Ford trying to keep up with her._

 _Inside a Grecian style temple, the Oracle sat on a mat in the center of four candles. As she sat down, the four candles lit by themselves. The other two stood outside the lit circle._

 ** _"I understand you're concerns, Selese,"_** _the Oracle said. Ford gave the blue skinned woman a sideways glance. Had she been talking to the Oracle, but he just didn't hear her. Then, he answered himself, 'she was speaking to the Oracle with her thoughts, which I wouldn't be able to hear since they weren't being sent to me.'_

 _ **"I will explain how my kind first learned about the dream demon known as Bill. We don't get involved with affairs going on in the lower dimensions unless we feel it will devastate all dimensions. He created chaos in his home dimension and killed many, including his own parents. He hated being seen as lower class and found those who would follow him. They are strange and disturbing creatures. He created his own nightmare dimension, but even that one has slowly decayed. They need to find a new domain and they have chosen Mother Gaia or as natives call it, Earth."**_ _The oracles eyes went to Ford._ _ **"I already know about the deal you made with him, without truly understanding who he was or his intentions. Mistakes were made, but you can rectify them. You will be the one to defeat him. It was decided long ago that this would all happen. Someone has to stop that demon and it will be you."**_

 _That sounded great, but Ford had no idea how he would do it. He had a chance while still in his dimension. He closed down the portal. However, it was started up and he ended up being pulled inside... All because of his brother..._

 _ **"You blame him for being here," the Oracle continued. "You were hurt by what he did to you, but you never saw his hurt. His family shut him out because of one mistake. However, this had to happen so you could grow and find what really would make you happy."**_

 _What the hell did she know? Nothing! Stanley cost him everything! Now he was stuck in between dimensions. If it weren't for his twin, he would be a great scientist and not lost in these different worlds. He also wouldn't be hunted by Bill. He wouldn't have been lost in that wasteland where reptiles tried to tear him apart... Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Selese, giving him a small smile. He felt her affections for him. She liked him. Maybe it was more than 'like,' maybe..._

 _ **"I know a way to keep that demon out of your mind, Stanford. You need to go into the dimension that is the alternate Earth. They have technology to install a metal plate in your head."**_ _Ford winced._ _ **"It will not be painful. Someone with a familiar face will help you. Just be wary for you will want to stay in this dimension, but you cannot. You will continue your journey. Also, while you're there, you will find blueprints for a weapon that will destroy the demon. This will all happen and you will not fail."**_

 _This was all coming at him so fast. He felt his temper rise again. What if he didn't want to do all this? What then? Was he being forced into this destiny? Selese spoke to him._

 _"She is offering us a safe place to stay for the night."_ __ _Selese led Ford into a very spacious and beautiful bedroom. A king sized bed with cotton sheets and red velvet blanket sat in the middle of the room. And that was about it. The wooden frame of the bed was decorated with gold. She walked over and lay down. Ford just stared at her._

 _"You should rest," she said._

 _"Is there another bed?" he asked._

 _"This one is just fine. I like it. Don't you?"_

 _"I can't sleep there if you are. It...wouldn't be right."_

 _Her shoulders shook as she made a silent laugh. "I like you," she said_ _ **.**_ _He turned away. His face felt warm. He slowly made his way over. He sat down on the very edge of the mattress, looking over his shoulder at her. He was already thinking about how much he liked her too, but then he questioned why she liked him._

 _"You don't realize your good qualities, do you? You are better looking than you think and you have a kind heart. Even though you are hurting right now..." Ford sighed and held his hands up with his palms facing outwards. He kept his eyes on her, waiting for a response._

 _"Yes, you have six fingers on each hand. I have blue skin. I'm sure look strange to people from your dimension. You never judged me for my odd appearance, why should I judge you for your differences?"_ __ _He starred at her. Suddenly, a smile formed on his lips. He lay down next to her. She turned towards him and gently took his hands. He felt warmth coming from them. Her hand glowed in a light bluish hue. As the light transferred though his hands, he felt a surge of energy. She bent forwards and kissed him. The light moved through her body and into his as well. He closed his eyes as he felt the warmth inside of him grow. She withdrew from him and gazed in his eyes._

 _"I need to tell you something. The plan Bill has for you Earth has grabbed the attention of the Grand Council of Sirius." Ford shrugged._

 _"Okay," he responded still with a fixed gaze on her._

 _"I'm just letting you know, that I may have to go help them." Ford kissed her. When they broke away from each other, she continued. "I love you. The time we've spent together was nice and you're the first human I've ever met and I like your kind. You're kind has been destructive, but that's when they're lost in their fears. When you humans choose to love, it is very beautiful."_

 _"You're beautiful," he replied as he fully embraced her, kissing her. The light around them grew until it was a brilliant silvery light._

 _It had been nearly a week since the visit into the cloud dimension. Ford and Selese continued across the barren plains. Ford looked over at the woman he had grown to love._

 _"This is great! Now we can go to that parallel dimension the Oracle talked about. I can get the metal plate in my head and then we can start on that weapon and together, we'll defeat that devious triangle!" Ford turned towards Selese. Her gaze pointed at the sky. She stood there for several moments. "Selese?" She slowly turned around, a look of disdain crossed her face._

 _"They're calling me," she said._

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"I have to go back to Sirius."_

 _"Okay, let's go there first, then we'll—"_

 _"You can't go there," she said. "It's in the higher dimensions."_

 _Ford narrowed his eyes. "We were just in a higher dimension, weren't we?"_

 _"Yes, but, the Oracle was strong enough to keep your vibration up. That won't be the case for Sirius. Besides, I don't know how long I'll be there."_

 _A pit formed in Ford's stomach. "What are you saying?"_

 _"You'll have to continue your mission on your own."_

 _"What are you talking about?" his voice rose. She winced at his anger._

 _"I have to go to Sirius and you won't be able to come because you can't sustain a high enough vibration to go and stay there with me."_

 _"Why do you have to go?"_

 _"They are calling me," she insisted._

 _"Who exactly?"_

 _"The council," she responded. "It is a call that all Sirians receive when something in the universe is off balance. My guess is Bill is making his move to take over your dimension and we are going to use our powers to confine him. You need to get that weapon together."_

 _Ford felt every part of his body go numb. "I can't do this without you. I-I care about you." Suddenly, he felt dizzy and shortness of breath. "Please don't go," he barely spoke above a whisper. She embraced him._

 _"I won't be gone forever. I will come back to your Earth, but by that time, you will have completed your mission." Ford stared at her for a moment. Did that mean he was going to be successful in defeating Bill? "I'm still with you spiritually even if I'm not around physically," she said._

 _He pushed her away. "Don't give me that metaphysical crap! You wanna go! Fine! I can defeat Bill on my own! I never needed anyone!" Ford turned away and started walking. After about ten steps, he turned around just as Selese faded into a white light._

Ford awoke. His vision was blurry. Why couldn't he see? He tried to reach up to his face to adjust his glasses only to feel his arms were in restraints. He looked behind him at blue electricity that formed shackles and chains coming out of some weird machine. How did he get here? His memory flashed back to being in the room of electric cells with his family.

 _"I am very interested in what your whole family can do, Stanford."_ He remembered the words spoken by that weird circular demon, no it appeared more of an octagon. They didn't get a chance to fight back. There was a bunch of lightning blasts, then...nothing. What happened to Stan and the kids?

A heavy metal door opened and shut. Ford's eyes jumped to a blurry figure walking towards him. The person was inches away when he finally recognized the face. His eyes narrowed as his mouth formed a sneer.

"Now what are you doing?" Ford demanded.

Andrew formed his lips into crude smile. "What I've always wanted. To be the best and to see you utterly humiliated"

"What are you talking about? You have no idea what you've done. You made a deal with that demon. Do you even realize the pain you're going to experience?"

"Me?" Andrew let out a boisterous laugh. "I'd worry more about the sad state you're in right now"

Ford's eyes widened as he stared horrified at the man he once called his friend. Would he really...?

"See, those restraints have electrical current running through them and I have this baton," Andrew said as he pulled out a long glowing stick from a black case. When I touch the baton to your body, you'll feel an electrical surge coursing through your organs." So this was going to be like the same torture Bill did to him...great.

"Can I know why you're doing this? I can't believe you're really this sadistic, not the Andrew I remember from high school. What did going to West Coast Tech do to you?"

"I guess you're still upset you didn't get in. It really was a wonderful experience and I made a lot of great connections with the world's leading scientists. While I was researching the possibilities of moving into other dimensions, I met some interesting beings who helped me get all the technology I needed. I received the futuristic technology to construct the portal. After I went into the other worlds, I found Octavius or rather, he found me. He was impressed by me and we became partners."

"Octavius? That's the name of the demon? Wait, I thought he helped you with the building of the portal, who—" Then it dawned on Ford. "The beings that helped you were aliens, right? You wrote about them in your journal, those Greys."

"How astute. Yes, the Greys have lived on our planet for over half a century. They contacted the U.S. government in the 50's and made a deal with them. They let them use futuristic technology to control the minds of the people. I don't really care about all that, but I find it fascinating how quickly they dumbed everyone down. Anyway, after I became partners with Octavius, we started making our own plans."

"And what are those plans?" Ford asked.

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Sorry, this isn't some hokey spy movie where the villain tells all of his plans to the hero. Besides, you're not really much of a hero and I'm hardly a villain."

"Are you kidding me? You tricked my family and I into coming to your house, then you got my grandniece and nephew to use your portal—"

"Actually, I didn't plan that. However, it worked in my favor." He raised the baton and swung it into Ford's shoulder, sending an electrical current through his body. Ford cried out as numerous bolts of electricity ripped through him. His shoulder was left with exposed flesh seeping out from his clothing.

"What the hell is wrong with you, you sick f—" Another swing of the baton went into the side of his neck. He screamed even louder as the increased pain almost made his skull burst. Ford continued to breathe heavily while images of Bill's torture crossed his mind. The energy beam that demon used made his face feel like his skin was melting off. It was also continuous. These blows were given to him in short bursts. Andrew swung the baton into his leg this time, which was painful, but not as bad as the previous one. Ford only let out a grunt in response. He looked up at the man he realized he hardly knew. There was fear in his eyes.

"I get the feeling you don't exactly know what you're doing. You're not a torturer, Andrew. In fact, compared to what 'He' did to me, this is nothing." Andrew backed away, freaked out by Ford's intense stare.

"W-what are you talking about? S-shut up!" He slammed the baton straight onto Ford's head. He probably should have kept his mouth shut as this pain was worse than all of the others he just experienced. Ford screamed every curse word he knew through grit teeth.

"You are nothing more than a goddamn puppet!" Ford yelled. "You know that, right?"

"Y-you don't know what you're talking about!" Andrew lashed out. "Octavius and I have a special bond."

"Yeah? That's what I thought about Bill. Trust me, this isn't going to end well." Ford let out a dark laugh. "Just wait for the insanity to come. And the paranoia and the nightmares—"

Andrew backed away. "Nightmares? Paranoia? Insanity?" Ford stared at him, his eyes never wavered. He wasn't afraid at all, Andrew realized. "Ford, what happened to you in those thirty years you were trapped between dimensions?"

"A lot of things, Andrew. A lot of experiences that just made me tougher."

"You sound like you've been though a lot,"

Ford laughed lightly. "You have no idea."

 _Ford stood alone in the barren land. He stared straight ahead, pushing every thought of Selese out of his head. He felt used all over again. There was only one thing left for him. The one thing he knew he had to face sooner or later. The Oracle was right that he would be the one to take Bill down. He wanted it that way._

 _He continued at a fast paced walk, waiting for the next dimension jump that would hopefully take him to that world with all the technology he needed. He tried focusing his thoughts on that one place. As he moved along, his eyes spotted a large group heading his way. It was those reptiles again. He was too pissed off to care about the danger. He grabbed his gun and readied it. The armored leader pointed a finger at Ford as he commanded his small army. Two creatures charged at Ford. He didn't slow down. One shot after another, each foe that came at him met the same fate, lying on the ground, bleeding out. The leader of the troop growled with rage as he charged at Ford, bearing his spear. The young scientist didn't miss a beat as he pulled the trigger, sending continuous energy beams at the creature. The reptile managed to avoid the shots. One blast struck the spear, knocking it out of the hands of its wielder. The huge creature didn't bother to go after the weapon. He just charged at Ford, knocking him to the ground. The young man went down, smacking his shoulder into the dirt._

 _He punched Ford in the face twice, yet somehow it didn't knock him out. He blocked the third punch, then returned a blast from his gun, ripping off the creature's scales. The creature fell backward and lay in his own fluids. Ford got back to his feet. Holstering his gun, he continued on._

"I took down every one of those reptiles," Ford said slowly. "Something in me just snapped. I wasn't going to die there!"

Andrew stared at the man. He quickly turned away and ran out of the room. With the metal door closed and him out of Ford's sight, he let out all the tears and emotion he'd been holding onto since he made the deal with Octavius.

Code: Tlrmt rmhzmv rh vzhrvi gszm uzxrmt blfi gifv wrnlmh.

Hint: Everything turns upside down.


	14. Chapter 14: Seeing Through the Illusion

**N/A: I'm finally back with a new chapter. Thanks for sticking around.**

Chapter 14: Seeing Through the Illusion

Andrew stood, waiting silently in a dark void. He had always believed his dreams with Octavius were good. Now, he was plagued with the thought of suffering horrendous nightmares. Suddenly Octavius' deep voice intercepted his thoughts.

"How did the reunion go with your old friend?"

Andrew looked up. "I—I don't know," he admitted. "He's changed a lot." Andrew turned away.

"Maybe its time to move on," Octavius answered. "Are you ready, then?"

Andrew let out a horrified gasp. "I-I'm not sure—I uh—is this going to hurt?"

"You are concerned about that now?"

"Well, I've been thinking about it and— Ford told me about having Bill in his mind and all the nightmares and—"

"Andrew," the blue octagon floated toward him. "We made a deal. You can't go back on it. Besides, that human made the mistake of fighting Bill while inside his head. I know you won't make that same mistake, right?"

"N-no, I wont."

"Alright then." Octavius left his physical body and floated above Andrew and slowly descended into his brain. As this happened, Andrew's fears of pain were immediately calmed as he realized he didn't feel anything. In fact, his brain went totally numb. He couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep. Soon, it didn't matter.

Dipper opened his eyes. His body ached as he tried to move. His eyes glanced over the four walls that surrounded him. Four concrete walls and a ceiling and floor. He was trapped in a cement block; there wasn't even a door!

"What the hell?" he whispered. "Hello?" he called out. Silence was his only response. He moved around the square room, feeling along the walls. There had to be some secret door. He couldn't just be in a room with no way in or out. He went around the room twice, but found nothing helpful. "This is insane!" he said softly. "Hello? Is someone out there?" he shouted. Nothing. Usually when something weird happens, he at least could move freely to find a solution, but being trapped in a cube? What was he supposed to do? What could he do?

 _Don't give up._ He scanned the room. The soft voice came from nowhere.

"Who said that?" he asked.

 _There is a way out. You need to see past the illusion._

"What illusion?" he asked out loud.

 _The box you are inside is an illusion. Believe you are already outside. Just walk as if the walls are not in your path._ That sounded insane, but weirder stuff happened to him on a regular basis. He closed his eyes and walked forward...right into the wall.

"Ow!" he cried out. He opened his eyes and rubbed the side of his head.

It didn't work. What was he thinking? Of course it didn't work!

 _Take my hand._ Dipper looked straight ahead to see an arm reaching through the wall. The person's skin color had a blue tint to it. He squint his eyes. Slowly, he took the disembodied hand. It pulled him through the wall. Dipper shut his eyes tight.

"You are safe. Open your eyes," said a kind voice. The teenage boy slowly opened his eyes to look up at the face of a woman with blue skin and dark hair. Dipper stared at her for a good long moment. He opened his mouth, but he couldn't form any words. Only short stuttering sounds slipped out.

The woman laughed. "You sound just like him," she said.

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

She shook his head. "Never mind."

"Sorry. I'm not sure what happened. I just walked through a wall."

"It was an illusion."

"But I actually hit it the first time."

"You believed it was real. It just manifested what you believed," she explained. Dipper eyed her suspiciously. He turned around expecting to see the cell where he was trapped, but nothing was there.

"Come with me," the woman spoke as she walked through the labyrinth.

"Where are we going?"

"We need to find your sister and great uncles," she responded.

Dipper nodded. "Oh, right." Then it hit him. "Wait, what? How do you know about them?"

"I know your whole family very well," she said lightly.

"And who are you exactly?"

She stopped and twisted her head around over her shoulder. "My name is Selese."

Stan looked around the small square room. Four walls and no door; he just stood in the center of a cube with no way out.

"This is stupid," he muttered to himself. He thought he heard someone shouting. The voice was female, but very muffled. Putting his good ear to the wall, he listened. It was pretty safe to assume this person needed help. However, he was trapped. Somehow, he still had his brass knuckles that no one seemed to think was much of a threat to take away. He stared with hard eyes at the white brick walls. He never punched through brick before, but he was willing to try. Pulling his fist back, he threw the hardest punch he could. As his fist came into contact with the obstacle, his whole body fell forward through the wall. He landed face first onto the floor. Moving to his feet, he turned his head around to see the wall he just fell through.

"What the—?" He furrowed his brow as he put his hand up to a solid wall. "How did I—?" That's when he heard a voice shout, "Get away from me!"

He suddenly realized it was Mabel's voice. Whoever was harassing her was about to have a bad day. Stan ran down the long hallway towards her cries.

Dipper stayed a few feet back from the blue skinned woman. Her movement declared that she was very determined to get to her destination. She turned a corner, facing a door.

"Is that door another illu—" Dipper didn't finish his sentence before she threw a hard kick into the door, sending it to the ground. Dipper blinked a few times. "Okay, never mind." He followed her inside. She ran to someone locked in electric chains. His eyes went to the person, she just freed.

"Great Uncle Ford?" he ran over with a big smile on his face. His eyes had been closed.

"Dipper? Is that you?" he asked as he slowly opened them. Selese put his glasses on his face. His eyes focused on her almond face and violet colored eyes. He breathed in deeply.

"A-am I dreaming?"

Her eyes saddened as she embraced him. "I told you we would meet again," she said softly. Suddenly, he pushed her back with such force that she cried out as she fell. Dipper, who didn't expect that reaction from a pretty woman saving him, narrowed his eyes at his uncle.

"Why did you do that? She just kicked down a door to save you!"

Selese rose to her feet. "Wow, Ford, I didn't expect this from you? Are you still angry with me for leaving?"

He shook his head. "You're not her! There's no way you could be her! This has to be a trick!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

She gazed sadly at him. "I guess I can't blame you for being suspicious."

Ford softened his eyes as gazed at his nephew. "Dipper! You aren't hurt are you? I swear if Andrew did anything to you, Stan or Mabel, I'll—!"

"It's okay, this woman saved me," Dipper explained. "She really came here to help us. She can explain everything."

Ford turned to her as he crossed his arms. "So start explaining."

"It's really simple. I came here with a few others to stop Octavius."

"So, this has nothing to do with my family or me," Ford concluded.

Her eyes hardened. "You know it's sometimes hard to keep my vibration up when I'm around you! Can you for once in your life just be grateful that someone cares about you enough that they would risk their life to save you?!"

"Why? So I can be disappointed when you leave again?"

"I never left you!" she shouted. "I was there when you fought those reptiles. I was there when you went through all those dimensions and built the Distablizer—" Ford fell against the wall just staring at her. She lowered her voice as she spoke again. "I was there when you came out of the portal and you punched your brother in the face. I was there when you and your grandnephew went on your mission to seal the rift." She paused for a moment. "I was there when you got tortured by Bill. I gave you all the strength I had." Tears formed in her eyes. Ford stared in her eyes, seeing how genuine her emotions were. She knew everything he had been through even though she wasn't there physically. He took a step forward and embraced her. Dipper smiled as he watched them.

"Do you know where my grandniece and brother are?" Ford asked as he let her go.

She shook her head. "No, but we'll find them."

Stan ran toward his niece's cries. The hallway extended on forever; it was taking too long to get to her. The screaming became louder meaning he had to be almost there. He was thankful for the time he spent in the Artic with Ford and for keeping up a routine of healthier eating and exercise. Otherwise, he would never be able to run this long. Finally, he reached a large iron door. Putting a hand on the lever to open the door, he pushed. When that didn't work, he pulled.

"Locked," he said somewhat defeated. Mabel continued screaming. "Hey Mabel! I'm here! Hold on!" he hoped she could hear him. Lifting his leg up, he threw a swift kick into the door. The thud echoed through the hallway. He slapped his forehead. He wasn't going to be able to kick this thing down. Maybe, he could break in. He searched his pockets and found a paperclip and a piece of string.

"Why do I have these?" I wondered out loud. Another cry from Mabel. "Don't worry, Pumpkin, I'll get this door open!" he shouted. He opened up the paperclip and inserted it into what he thought was the lock.

Selese led Ford and Dipper down the hallway until they also heard Mabel's cries.

"Mabel!" Both Ford and Dipper shouted.

"Whoever is hurting her is about to receive my fists pounding their face!" Ford yelled.

"There's a door up ahead," Selese said.

"Where?" Dipper shouted.

"You'll see it in a moment," she responded.

Another few strides and they saw Stan squatting by a large iron door, cursing as he tried to pick the lock. Selese put her hand on his shoulder. Stan turned around, surprised.

"There isn't a lock," she explained. Stan's eyes grew wide at her appearance. She was a tall, blue skinned woman with an athletic build and long legs. Stan slowly stood up.

"W-Who are you?" His eyes went to his brother and nephew. "You guys are okay!" The three of them watched as Selese kicked down the door. Stan leaned closely to his brother. "Who is that?"

"I'll explain when this is over."

They all raced in to see Mabel...chained to the wall...three assailants circled around her. One was Teeth who was making obscene comments while Eight-Ball and Xanthar tore at her clothing.

"Stop struggling, we're all here for a fun time!" Teeth said while laughing.

"Well, 'Fun Time' is over!" Stan yelled as he raced at the creature. He punched the chattering teeth so hard he flew into the wall. Ford ran at Eight Ball, sending a left hook across the face, then grabbing and tossing him across the room. Selese simply walked up to Xanthar, grabbed and lifted him over her head as she threw him along with his friends.

Dipper ran over to his sister. "Are you okay?" He looked over her shuffled appearance and saw her tears. She was far from okay. His eyes watered as he hugged her. "It's okay. We're all together now," he whispered.

The three Henchmaniacs lay unconscious in a heap on the other side of the room. Everyone stood in silence before a loud rumble came in the distance.

"What the hell?!" Stan cried.

"Don't be alarmed," Selese said. "It's my ship."

"Your ship?" Dipper asked.

"Well, the ship I belong to. We need to go!" She led them back out through the iron door. The family followed her through the thin hallways, hoping she knew where she was going.

"Do you know where you're going, Selese?" Ford called to her. She scrunched her nose.

"I see your faith in the overall outcome of a situation still remains grim," she retorted.

"Don't start your with your talk about faith," he lashed out. "I like seeing results!"

Finally, they came upon two big metal double doors. Selese didn't spare a second as she leapt and kicked through them. Everyone walked through just to find themselves at a dead end.

"Well, this didn't lead anywhere," Ford said with disappointment.

All of the sudden, the floor began to rise.

"It's an elevator?" Dipper asked.

Selese sent Ford a smirk. "Have faith," she said simply. Ford rolled his eyes.

The platform stopped and everyone piled out into a platform. The eyes of each family member turned down. Under them was just a black void.

"W-where the hell are we?" Stan yelled.

"Uh, Stan?" Dipper said as he looked up. Stan followed his nephew's gaze. He almost fell over as he saw a gigantic spaceship above them.

"Whoa!" Mabel cried.

"Uh, wow!" Ford exclaimed. "You know, I've been in a spaceship, but not one that's mobile."

Selese smiled. "Everyone, hold hands." Everyone did. "Oh, and no correcting anyone's grammar, Ford," she winked at him.

"How did you k—?" In the next moment, the five of them were pulled up into the ship. The aircraft took off through the void.

Down below, a figure floated in the abyss. Andrew, now fully possessed by Octavius stared up at the ship flying away, his eyes glowed crimson red.


	15. Chapter 15: The Pawns

**N/A: Hello, I hope you all are still enjoying the story. Please feel free to leave any comments, questions or suggestions. Thanks for reading.**

Chapter Fifteen: The New Pawns

The first thing to happen after the Pines family boarded the ship was getting a grand tour. Selese was very hospitable as she showed them a lounge area where they sat on soft silk cushions. Eyes grew wide as each family member asked for their choice of drink and watched as it materialized in front of them.

"This is amazing!" Stan said excitedly. Dipper thought of a chocolate shake while Mabel drank some Mabel Juice.

"Is this really happening?" Dipper wondered as he took a sip. "It's good. In fact, I think this is better than the ones I get at the diner. Stan sipped the wine he wished for. "This stuff is even better than what that schmuck had!"

Ford looked at the dark colored liquid in his glass.

"What did you get?" Stan asked him.

"I just thought of the strongest alcohol ever to exist." He downed the drink. Suddenly, the room spun. "Whoa! I didn't expect that. What is this?" He looked at the nearly empty glass.

"Oh Geez! Don't get drunk on me," Stan warned.

"You should talk," he shot back.

The door into the lounge slid open and Selese walked in. She sat in one of the vacant chairs and looked kindly at her guests.

"As soon as the captain gets here with the rest of the crew, we can talk more about the plan," she said.

"Plan?" Ford asked. "I think if there is any 'plan,' you need to tell us everything right now."

"Well, you see, it isn't exactly my plan," she replied.

"Whose plan is it then?"

The door slid open and a group of four walked into the room. Among them, was someone Ford recognized. Strangely, he didn't appear a day older despite it being over thirty years later. He jumped to his feet when he saw the bug like creature in his hard shell armor.

"Raynard? What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I'm the captain of this ship," he responded smugly. "And you and your family are the so called 'chosen' to stop the apocalypse?"

"You're talking about the incident that happened back in 2012?" Dipper asked. "You know about Weirdmageddon?"

The captain let out a boisterous laugh. "The entire Multiverse knows about it and your family. Although, I thought there were ten chosen. I only see four." He turned to Selese.

"As I said, Raynard. This is a whole different situation. It only involves them this time."

"Uh, someone want to tell us what this is all about?" Stan interjected.

"Basically, you and your family are being used as bait so we can get rid of the demon," Raynard swiftly explained.

"Bait?" Ford questioned. "Excuse the hell out of me?"

"I wish I did know the excuse for you," he returned. He took an intimidating step toward Ford. "I wish I knew why we ever kept you around—"

"That's enough!" Selese shouted as she stepped between the two.

"Can someone explain about us being bait to stop this demon?" Mabel asked. "Yeah, let's start with that." Stan agreed.

"We will let you know the information when you need to know it," Raynard informed them. "For now, just have a sit." He gestured to the stylish furniture.

"No! Tell us everything right now!" Ford shouted.

"We will let you know the information when you need to know it," he repeated, staring Ford down, but it wasn't working. Selese touched his shoulder.

"Please, just sit down for now." Ford pulled away from her.

"So, I guess we're prisoners on your ship now," he said hastily.

"If you want to be imprisoned, we can certainly arrange that!" Raynard threatened.

"You are our guests," Selese clarified. "Please, just relax. My comrades and I are going to have a meeting and then we'll come back to discuss the plan with you."

Stan, Dipper and Mabel sat and waited as Ford just paced about.

"Hey, why don't you just relax?" Stan called to him.

"I'm supposed to relax?" he lashed out. "This is worse than I thought. We're all being used as bait? What exactly are they planning?" He grabbed his hair, pulling at the ends. "I—I need something! Maybe a sedative or—" A glass with more dark liquid appeared in his hand. He breathed in the sent of the alcohol. "This will do." He gulped it down. Slowing his pace, he made his way back to the chair he sat in originally.

"Well, it looks like you're sedated," Stan said looking over at his brother.

"We don't have to do what they say, do we?" Dipper asked.

"Nothing says we have to do anything," Stan responded.

"How exactly would they use us as bait anyway?" Mabel wondered.

Finally, Selese and Raynard walked into the room.

"It's been decided," Raynard spoke with authority. "Stanford, you and your family will help us catch the demon, Octavius."

"Look, we're glad to help in any way we can, but what is all this business about being bait?" Ford asked. "And who are you to decide what my family and I will do?"

"Either you help us, or every one of you will be dropped off this ship and seeing as we are traveling between dimensions at the moment, you and your family will be lost in a wormhole."

Everyone froze.

"You're okay with this decision, Selese?" Ford questioned.

"Well, not that last part, but I promise Ford, it will be okay." Her eyes pleaded with him.

"I'm not as easily persuaded as I once was," he said coldly.

"I'm not trying to persuade you, or trick you. I'm begging you and your family to help us stop this monster!" Tears filled her eyes.

"Why us?" Stan asked suddenly. "How did we get so damn popular?"

"Ford is the one who became popular," Selese replied. "Back when we first met, he was looking for a way to stop Bill. This alone got the attention of many. Then, the rest of you had run-ins with the dream demon as well as some of your friends. You used the wheel to defeat Bill, right?" The four family members exchanged knowing glances. "That's what you did, right?" she persisted.

"Uh—the wheel didn't work," Dipper said.

Selese's eyes widened. "I don't understand," she admitted.

"Well, gee, I thought you knew everything, Selese," Ford commented with a smirk.

"I don't pry," she said. "I only tap into another's mind if it's necessary."

"You knew about me correcting Stan's grammar, which led to him getting mad at me and then the wheel failed."

"Hey, don't just blame me, Poindexter. You didn't have to correct my stupid grammar!"

"I don't know anything about that," she said. "You corrected my grammar many times as well as the rest of the group. That's how you got into all those fights."

"Really Ford?" Stan asked raising an eyebrow."

"But, what is this about the wheel not working? How did you defeat Bill?"

"Maybe they didn't! Maybe they joined with the demon," Raynard hastily concluded.

"We would never do that!" Dipper yelled.

"Yeah, we would never help that pointy jerk!" Mabel agreed.

"Stop jumping to conclusions," Selese said calmly. Raynard grumbled. "How did you do it then?"

Ford looked at Stan who nodded back. He turned to look at Selese. "Bill needed information from me in order to leave Gravity Falls. He was trapped there and if I gave him this equation, he would be able to spread the weirdness over the world. Stan and I switched places and I erased Bill from his mind, but also made him lose his memory."

"I got it back after five seconds of looking through a scrapbook," Stan said.

"Why didn't you erase him from your mind?" Raynard asked.

Ford tapped his head where the metal plate was installed. "The ray wouldn't be able to erase my mind."

"Oh, that's right. You were going to put a plate in your head after you talked to the Oracle," Selese recalled. "I can't believe you actually did that."

"So what does this have to do with anything?" Raynard asked impatiently.

"I guess the point is, we're just a normal family," Stan said. "The only thing that defeated that triangle demon was one big con."

"What exactly was your plan for getting rid of Octavius?" Dipper asked. "Is there another wheel?"

Selese shook her head. "I'm going to leave it up to the person who came up with the plan to tell you."

"Who is that?" Ford asked. From the doorway walked in a plump figure in a gray jumpsuit, wearing goggles and messing with a wristwatch. His body faded in and out as he tried to become solid.

"You?" Both Dipper and Mabel shouted. Blendin looked up at the others in the room.

"Hi Everyone."

"Who is that?" Stan asked.

"His name is Blendin and he works with Time Officers removing anomalies that don't belong certain places," his nephew explained.

"I don't think I've ever seen him before myself," Ford said.

"I've been around," Blendin replied.

"Not going to lie, kind of unsettling that you kids know this guy and Ford and I don't," Stan said.

After one explanation of how the twins met Blendin, everyone waited for the Time Officer to talk about his plans.

"So, I never knew exactly how Weirdmageddon ended," Blendin said. "However, I soon found out that it did and for a while, things were pretty calm. Then, Selese found me." He turned to the blue skinned woman. "She told me about Octavius and his plans to team up with another dream demon and start a new reign in all dimensions."

"Other demon?" Ford asked. "Who?"

His face turned grim. "You better sit down for this. And please don't kill me!" he shrunk back covering his head with his arms.

"We're all sitting down," Stan said. "And we promise nothing about not killing you."

"Just go ahead. We're not here to fight anyone," Ford said.

Blendin breathed out a long sigh. "You know how there are infinite universes and time lines?" Ford and Dipper nodded, while Stan and Mabel stared at him. "And you realize that people make different choices and end up with a different future because of it?"

"Just get it out already," Ford pressed.

Blendin gulped. "Stanford, you know there is a dimension where you exist as a renowned scientist. You went there for a very short time." Ford's eyes sprang wide open.

"You mean the alternate earth I found?"

"Yeah, the Earth we all went to," Mabel said. "We saw your presentation, Grunkle Ford! And then I saw Blendin and—" She slapped her hands over her mouth "Oops!"

"You weren't supposed to tell them!" Blendin shouted.

"Why would she have to keep that a secret?" Dipper asked as he turned to his sister. "And why would you agree to keep it a secret?"

"I don't know! He asked me not to say anything." She looked over at Blendin. "Sorry, I told you my family has a way to get hidden information."

"Yeah, and it's name is Mabel!" Blendin shouted.

"Hey, don't yell at my niece!" Ford warned. "How about you stop stalling and tell us this plan already!" Blendin grit his teeth and fearfully shrunk back.

"L-Listen, Bill still exists in that world. The other 'you' didn't get rid of him. He just closed the wormhole created between the dimensions. This means he is still a threat. We need your help."

No one spoke for a moment. "Can we defeat him with the wheel thingy again?" Mabel asked.

"We would need everyone else to do it," Dipper replied.

"Yeah, maybe it will work the right way this time," Stan said.

Ford stayed in his thoughts for a while, then looked up at Blendin. "This isn't our problem," he said finally. "I just want to get my family back home to our dimension."

"Oh, well you see—" Blendin tried.

"Yes, it is your problem, Pines!" Raynard bellowed. "You are the one who made the deal with him in both timelines." Ford sprang to his feet.

"I made a deal with him in my timeline and I defeated him in my timeline! I am not responsible for what happened in any other timeline, and neither is my family! Got it?"

"Why don't you go ask the Ford in the other dimension to deal with the demon?" Stan asked.

Selese suddenly had a sly smile on her face. She looked at Ford with admiration. "Honestly, he couldn't do what needed to be done. Remember when I told you that things happen for a reason? You went through everything you did to become stronger and you were able to defeat Bill because of that."

"You're saying that the other 'me' can't stop Bill?"

"I want you to see how strong you became compared to your other self. When we get to that parallel dimension, you will see him and understand why you can't be him and why—" She placed her hands on his shoulder, looking into his eyes. "Why you are you."

"Fine. We'll at least go into the alternate Earth."

"But I thought that would mess up the time stream or whatever," Mabel asked. "Blendin said that we can't meet ourselves."

"We won't have to worry about you three," Selese said pointing to Stan, Dipper and Mabel. "You're alternate selves aren't in Gravity Falls. "Don't worry Ford, we'll keep you away from your other self. You can see your other self as long as he doesn't see you."

"Okay," he finally agreed.

"Good, now let's get going already!" Raynard said stomping out of the room.

"Well, this is going to be fun," Stan said dryly.

"All of you can rest until we get to our destination," Selese told the family members. "Just call if you need anything. They watched as Selese left with Blendin.

"Is this really happening?" Dipper asked.

"I don't know what's happening? We're going back to that alternate Earth dimension?" Stan inquired.

Ford sat down. "I don't like this," he admitted. "However, if there is another Bill, I guess we can't just leave him to his devices." His head fell into his hands as he groaned.

"Hey, I don't recall agreeing to anything," Stan said. "They can't make us do anything we don't want to do."

Ford lifted his head. "No. They can't," he agreed.

"I say the first opportunity we get, we take over this ship and go home!" The others turned to Stan.

"Sounds like a plan!" Mabel yelled.

"Yeah!" Dipper joined in.

The three now looked at Ford, who smiled.

"I'm so proud to be part of this family," he said.


	16. Chapter 16: The True Plan

**N/A: Hello Everyone! I want to thank everyone for all the views, likes and comments! When I started this story, I had an idea of how it was going to go, but as I wrote it, I got new ideas, (either mine or someone's suggestions), and I just went them. I hope everyone is able to follow the story and no one is confused. If you have any questions about the plot or characters, please let me know. I hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

Chapter 16: The True Plan

Stan took a fighting stance by the door exiting the room while Mabel stood on the other side of the doorway holding a lamp over her head that she imagined into existence.

"This place is so neat. I can imagine anything I want!" she cried out. "In fact, maybe some dream guys can help us out."

"No dream guys!" Dipper yelled. "Just focus on the current mission." Ford and him held a large net, ready to toss onto whoever came into the room. The door opened. Mabel did a war cry as she threw the lamp at the person and Stan tackled them to the ground. The other two ran with the net, but Ford stopped when he realized who it was. Selese looked up at him.

"I should have guessed this was going to happen," she said rather calmly. She put her palm onto Stan's face and with great ease, pushed him off of her. She moved to her feet. "Listen Ford, I know you and your family have been through a lot. I know the last thing you wanted was to face that demon again." She looked solemnly into his eyes. "But, I don't know anyone else who could do it." Stan watched the woman talk sweetly to his brother. Another plan began to formulate inside his head.

"Okay, okay, we'll behave ourselves," Stan told her. He winked to Dipper and Mabel. They winked back. Stan put his hand on Selese's shoulder. She turned with her mouth slightly agape. "You can go back to whatever you do on this ship, rest assured that we won't try anything else. And we definitely will not try to take over this ship." Ford shot him a glare. Selese burst out in laughter.

"Oh, I'm not too worried," she said.

Once she was out of the room, Stan looked at Ford.

"Okay Sixer. You've gotta distract the alien chick."

"Her name is Selese."

"Whatever. Just, you know lay that Pines charm on her. And the rest of us will take care of everything else."

"I don't know if I can—"

"She already likes you Grunkle Ford!" Mabel said.

He shook his head. "I can't believe this," he grumbled. "What do I say to her?" Ford asked, nervously rubbing the back of her head. "I—I'm not good at small talk."

"Give her a back massage," Stan said with conning grin.

Ford's eyes widened. "Uh—" he uttered.

"Yeah, and tell her she's pretty," Mabel tossed in. "Tell how great she looks, over and over again."

Dipper started laughing. "Are you guys serious? This woman seems a little too smart to fall for flattery."

"Right. She is," Ford agreed.

"Listen Poindexter, what do we have to do to convince you to do this?" Ford just stared at his brother. "I mean, you know, it's kind of your fault that we're all in this mess. You had to go see your friend who ended up screwing us, so—"

Ford let out a long sigh. "Okay. I'll talk to her. But you guys need to take care of the rest."

"Duh! That was the plan," Stan replied.

Ford walked down the corridor of the ship. It really was amazing that he now stood on such a vessel. It was like all those Sci-Fi shows and movies he watched through the years. He stopped at a door; the button to open the door was right next to it. Pushing it, the door slip upward and he could see Selese at the ship's controls. He breathed in and walked up to her. Then, he cleared his throat before speaking.

"Selese?"

She turned around. "Hello there," she responded. "I hope you and your family are comfortable."

"Uh, yeah. Hey, how about you take a break," he ended with a huge smile.

"A break?" she laughed. "Okay," she agreed.

The two exited the room and continued down the corridor. Stan and the younger twins rushed out of the other room and toward the bridge. Through the sliding door, the family was met with a very complex control panel. Stan and Mabel turned to Dipper.

"Well, there you go," Stan said to his nephew. Dipper looked over the controls.

"Okay— yeah, I can do this," he tried to convince himself. However, this was way too advanced even for him.

Ford and Selese entered another room that was even fancier than the one he and his family were inside earlier. The furniture had gold trimming over wooden arms and legs and the cushions were red silk. They sat down. Ford recalled what Stan and Mabel suggested.

"Uh, you look nice," he tried, looking over her red sleek gown. He remembered how she always wore Grecian dresses when she was relaxing or meditating.

She giggled. "Thank you."

"In fact, you look really amazing," he kept up with the compliments. Raising his hands, he slowly placed them on her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Ford's face was flushed. "Uh, d-do you want a m-massage?" he asked nervously.

She laughed again. "Oh, okay."

Ford started rubbing her shoulders. He hoped he was doing it right. This was the first massage he ever gave.

"So, uh, this ship is interesting. How come we can just imagine anything we want?" Ford asked.

"This ship has technology from the higher dimensions," she explained. "Remember I told you about how your feelings correspond with your thoughts? In the higher dimensions, your thoughts manifest very quickly. You can make something happen just by thinking about it," she explained.

Meanwhile, Stan and Mabel watched Dipper try to figure out the control unit. Finally, he pressed a button he believed would reset the destination, however, the whole ship came to a halt. Suddenly, the vessel plummeted downward.

"Dipper! What did you do?" Stan yelled.

Ford and Selese felt the sudden jerk of the ship. Ford fell over on top of her. She pushed him off and ran out the door before he had time to apologize.

Captain Raynard burst into the control room. He stared at the three family members. He ran towards the control unit. Stan tackled him. Raynard returned by slamming the old man down onto the ship's floor. At that moment, Selese ran into the room and gained control of the ship and stopped it in mid-space. Ford arrived to see the bug-like man on his twin brother.

"What the hell are you doing?" he yelled at Raynard. "Get off my brother, now!"

"Your family tried to take over the ship. You can watch as I throw them out into the time streams!" Raynard hastily returned. Ford rushed at Raynard, pushing him off Stan. He attempted to hold the captain down for a few moments before he reversed the move, holding Ford to the floor. Selese turned around.

"Stop!" she cried out. She earnestly spoke to her comrade . "I put the ship back on course." Her eyes moved to Ford. "Listen, I know you and your family are not up for helping us on this mission. I get it. You already defeated Bill, but as you know, there are other timelines, and he is still a threat in the other one."

Ford struggled under Raynard's weight. "I don't care! I'm not putting my family through that again! He almost killed my niece and nephew! He captured everyone in town and then—" he lost his voice as images of the torture Bill inflected on him raced through his mind.

"Maybe we would be more inclined to help, if we understood more," Dipper tried. "I mean, what about Andrew? He made a deal with Octavius, right? I thought you wanted to stop that demon and now you want to stop Bill, it doesn't make sense."

Selese smiled. "We are doing both," she said. "We are using them both to destroy one another." Every family member narrowed their eyes at her. "How exactly are you doing that?" Dipper asked. She bent down to be eye level with Ford.

"We need you to make a deal with Bill," she said flatly.

His eyes sprang wide open. "What?" he asked, too shocked to move.

"What?!" Stan yelled.

"My great uncle is not making any deals with that triangle demon!" Dipper yelled. "No one in this family is!"

"Yeah, he's a pointy jerk who can't make a good deal!" Mabel followed up.

"Listen, we have a plan," Selese tried. "Ford, you need to be very specific when you make the deal. I know exactly what you should say."

"Forget it, you blue skinned harlot!" Stan yelled.

"Whoa Whoa! Stanley, let me handle this. But first—" He twisted his head around as much as he could to look up at the Captain who was crushing him. "Get the hell off me! I'm not doing anything as long as I feel like a prisoner." Selese nodded at Raynard before he complied. Ford glanced solemnly at the woman who was once his companion. "What's the deal?"

"He will enter your mind and use your body as a vessel, but— He will have limitations. He can't use your body to hurt anyone. He can't use you for his own purposes. You will tell him that Octavius has plans to betray and kill him and he must kill him first."

"Bill isn't going to agree to that. And why would he believe me?"

"Well, for one you already made a deal with him to enter your mind whenever he wants. Two, he will believe you are the Ford from the other timeline and believe he is in control of everything anyway."

"This is a bad idea," Stan tossed in.

"This is stupid," Ford told her. "Bill is smarter than that. He'll know right away who I really am."

"Will he? How would he know the difference? You never went into the portal in the other timeline. He still thinks you are submissive to him."

"What are you talking about?"

Selese sighed. "Okay, I guess I can't keep it hidden from you. Ford, in the other timeline, you are okay with helping Bill rule the world."

Ford squint his eyes. "Excuse me?"

"That's right. You told your brother to take the journal. He listened. However, you took out the blueprint page for the machine. You took them all out of the three journals before you hid them. You gave the blueprints to Bill." Ford's eyes widened in horror.

"Why would I—?"

"Because you made the deal with him, perfectly well aware of what he was going to do. You tricked your friend to come back and help you. Do you get it, Ford? You aren't a good person in that timeline. Going through that portal and suffering for thirty years made you compassionate! It made you understand your flaws!"

"So, Grunkle Ford is evil in the other timeline?" Mabel confirmed.

"But weren't you losing your mind?" Stan asked. "I remember seeing you that night, Sixer. You weren't well."

"In the other timeline, he wasn't acting that way. In fact, he was very kind to you Stan," Selese explained. "He told you that once you took the journal to come back and live with you. However—you never came back. You died out at sea."

Stan blinked a few times. "Okay then," he said numbly.

"So, I've been taking all of this in," Dipper began. "In our world, Bill destroyed the rift that separated our world from his. That's how Weirdmageddon started. When is he planning to do that in the other timeline?"

Selese locked eyes with the boy. "After he makes the deal with Octavius. The two demons will take over the whole world. And also, Ford from the other dimension, already gave the equation to Bill. So, the apocalypse will be worldwide this time."

"How do we know you're telling us the truth?" Stan asked.

"I guess you don't, but, what's the alternative?"

"Going home and forgetting the whole thing," he answered swiftly.

Ford looked at his family and sighed. "I'll do it. However, I want you to send them home first."

"What?" Dipper cried.

"Grunkle Ford! We're not letting you do this on your own," Mabel said almost in tears.

"But—" he began

"But nothing!" Stan yelled. "We're all in!" he said to Selese.

She smiled. "Okay. Time for this family to meet the people in Earth D150/, " she said proudly.

"Alright! Everyone grab a weapon!" Stan yelled.

From their minds, each family member manifested their weapon of choice. Mabel had her grappling hook. Dipper had a baseball bat. Stan had his brass knuckles and a revolver and Ford had his ray gun and the Distablizer he made while in the other dimensions. "Let's do this!" Stan yelled as the rest of the family joined in a war cry.

"And time for Earth D150/ to meet one bad ass family," she finished in a whisper.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! This story is coming to a conclusion soon, so I hope you stay until the end.**


	17. Chapter 17: The First Wave Of Weirdness

Chapter 17: The First Wave of Weirdness

The people of dimension D150/ went on with their day as the large spaceship appeared in the clear blue sky. Mabel looked out through the large window at the people down below. Dipper joined her.

"So no one cares that a gigantic spaceship just appeared above them?" he asked, turning to see his two great uncles walking over. Selese came into the room at that moment.

"Is everyone ready?" she asked.

Ford turned to her. "I guess so," he responded. He knew the deal he was supposed to make with Bill. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach. It wasn't so much for his safety as if was for his family. Selese smiled as she put an arm around him. Ford turned with widened eyes and his mouth agape.

"If I may have a moment alone with you, we need to talk."

Ford turned to his family, but Stan was already pushing the kids toward the door.

"No problem," he called over his shoulder. They exited the room.

Ford turned back to Selese as she placed both of her arms around his neck.

"Everything will be alright," she whispered. "I know you are still angry with me, but I hope you can forgive me for what happened back then."

"I have—mixed feelings," he admitted. "You just left suddenly. I mean, you could have warned me—"

"I did." Ford narrowed his eyes. "I did tell you," she insisted. "We were in Dimension 52—you know, the night we were together? I got the first message from the council and I guess I could have waited, but they wanted me to tell you right away."

"Wait a minute," Ford paused in thought. "You did say something, but—" He started laughing. "I don't think my brain comprehended what you told me." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "You kind of, uh, told me at a moment when my mind was—uh, other places." This time, she narrowed her eyes, keeping her focus on his soft brown eyes. Suddenly, she understood. Her face flushed.

"Oh, I see. Bad timing to tell you a message like that." She cleared her throat.

"Besides, that was kind of a short time, from the time you told me to when you left," Ford pointed out.

"Time moves differently in the fifth dimension," she explained. "It moves slower, so it had been a week to them."

"Oh. Well, couldn't you have explained all that? I don't know, I feel like you just assumed I'd be okay with you just leaving suddenly."

Selese turned her eyes downward and sighed. "I believed I communicated everything to you that I needed to. Obviously, I was wrong. It's hard for a being from the higher dimensions to come down to the lower ones. Do you know it hurts us, not just physically, but mentally and spiritually too? I was supposed to be the messenger and let them know what was happening within the Multiverse. I came down to the third dimension to find out what was causing the disturbance and imbalance. I found out about Bill and all the other demons causing a lot of chaos and I was ready to take on whatever darkness came my way." She glanced upwards at him. "I wasn't ready to meet someone like you. I wasn't supposed to get emotionally involved with anyone." Ford stared back, taking in her words. "I hurt you." She shook her head. "I'm sorry. It's my fault—for falling in love with you." He tried to respond, but the words got caught in his throat. He leaned forward and kissed her. Tears formed in his eyes and rolled down his face. He forgot the warm feeling, burying it away after she left. Sure, he met other women and after becoming well known as a rebel in the multiverse, many females finally noticed him. However, the feeling was never the same. It felt empty in comparison.

The two broke away just as the door slid open and Raynard entered with Blendin.

"It's time to go," Raynard commanded.

"I hope this works," Blendin said in a quivering voice.

Stan and the kids entered right after.

"You know, we still don't know what to do," Stan said. "How does Ford even get to Bill?"

"Usually, I just went to sleep," Ford responded.

"The alternate 'you' can go back and forth between this dimension and Bill's," Blendin explained. "You just need to get to the portal."

"The portal?" Dipper asked. "In the Mystery Shack?"

"It's called the International Institute of Oddology," Ford replied. "I did visit this dimension before." He turned to Blendin. "I can't meet my other self. How are we going to stop this from happening?"

"We can blindfold you," Mabel suggested.

"No need," Selese replied. "We actually have Fiddleford working on the problem."

"What? Fidds?" Ford asked. "He's in on this too?"

"Oh, we've been working on this plan for a while," she slyly answered. "He took the other 'you' on an expedition."

"So, now what? We're just walking into the Institute like we own the place?" Stan asked.

"Well, I am technically the owner," Ford replied.

"Oh, well, that works."

Moments later, the occupants in the room were beamed down to the ground. The Pines family looked around to see the people frozen in time. Looking upwards, they realized that the ship was gone.

"What happened to the spaceship?" Dipper wondered out loud.

"There's a cloaking device that hides it," Selese explained

All at once, time restarted and the people began moving about again. The group didn't take more than a few steps when a hole opened in the sky. Monsters fell from above.

"What's going on?" Stan yelled.

"I'm not sure," Selese answered a little too calmly.

"What do you mean you're not sure?!" Dipper cried. "Don't you know everything?"

Selese shook her head. "I have attained a good amount of knowledge, however, I can't be expected to know everything."

"Forget it!" Ford shouted. "Our goal is to reach the Shack!"

The four family members raced through town as monsters landed everywhere. These creatures varied in different breeds of weirdness. Some were wolf-like with backwards heads or two or more heads. Some were blotchy with multiple eyes and some were just weird geometric shapes. From up above, a swarm of flying eyes with wings dove down at the people in the town. Only the people weren't turned to stone, they were encased in crystal.

Stan shot at each flying eye bat that dove at him. Dipper swung his bat and Mabel used her grappling hook.

"Grappling hook!" she shouted every time she smacked a monster in the face with the giant hook.

"Do you need to keep saying that over and over?"

She reeled back the hook. "Yep," she responded with a smile.

Ford used the distablizer taking out any monster within a fifty-foot radius of him.

"I thought you could only use that thing once," Dipper said.

"Please, I imagined one with unlimited ammo."

"So, it's like the ultimate weapon you find at the end of a video game!" Mabel shouted. "Neat!"

"I thought we would have been put closer to the shack," Ford shouted to Selese who just smack each creature away from her.

"Too many trees," she said.

"What do you mean, too many trees? You didn't have to land the thing."

"No, but we couldn't fit the ship over them."

"I don't quite understand—"

"Forget the logic!" Stan shouted. "We're not that far away, right?"

Suddenly Mabel stopped by a parked car.

"We could take this," she said.

"We don't have the keys to drive it," Ford replied. "Besides, it belongs to someone else. We'd be stealing—" Before he could finish the sentence, Stan had already broken into the car.

"Done," she said. "Now to hotwire it." Ford rolled his eyes.

They heard the roar of the engine. Ford pushed himself into the driver's seat.

"Move over," he told his brother.

"What the hell?! There's no way you're driving! We won't get there until next week if you drive!" Selese, Dipper and Mabel squeezed into the back.

"I've been here before, Stanley. The shack is actually in a different location than in our dimension."

"It is? Are you sure?" Stan squint his eyes at his brother.

"Yes, now move over." Stan did. He sat in the passenger seat giving a long sigh. "Just don't take forever. We're kind of racing the clock here."

"Just buckle your seatbelt."

"I don't need to buckle my damn seatbelt," he argued.

Ford shot a glare to his twin. "I said, buckle your seatbelt," he spoke slowly with authority.

"Fine." Stan did it as did everyone else in the car.

"Look out!" Dipper suddenly yelled. Both brothers turned to see a large monster with only a head and an arm sticking out of it, moving quickly towards them. Suddenly, Ford slammed his foot on the gas petal, sending the car down the road at lightning speed. Stan cried out, handing onto the bar by his head.

"S-slow down!" Stan yelled.

"I thought you said I drive too slow," Ford returned with a smirk. He turned the steering wheel causing the tires to squeal. Stan looked behind him at the twins and the blue skinned woman. Dipper and Mabel gripped the seat tightly. However, the woman had the calmest expression on her face as she stared straight ahead. Stan turned to his brother.

"Oh, I see. You're trying to show off," he smiled slyly.

"I'm not showing off for anyone," Ford replied with shortness in his voice. Suddenly a bunch of large bubbles bounced towards the car. Ford did his best to swerve around them, but one suddenly fell right onto the car. Ford gasped as he looked at his hands. His skin began to melt! Turning to his brother, niece and nephew, he saw their skin fall off their bones.

"W-what's going on?" he cried.

"I have no freakin' clue!" Stan yelled as he looked over his own body. Ford began to panic. Then, his eyes went to Selese. She was perfectly fine. Her eyes were closed as she breathed in, the slowly breathed out.

"S-Selese?" he cried.

"It's just an illusion," she said. He turned back to the road; the car floated a few inches off the ground. Ford closed his eyes, slowly breathing in and out. When he opened his eyes, he looked at his hands, then his face in the rearview mirror. He was fine. As he turned to his family, he realized they were fine too.

"It's okay," he announced. "Just close your eyes and breathe deeply."

Everyone listened as the bubble suddenly popped.

Up head was a large building with a six-fingered hand on the front.

"That's it!" Dipper yelled.

"Yep," Ford replied.

However, when they got out of the car, they were met with a hostile group standing in their path to the entrance of the institute. Pyronica stood, the pink flames igniting from her body stood along with the rest of her friends.

"Oh crap!" Stan exclaimed.

"You guys again?" Dipper asked rolling his eyes. "Get out of our way!"

"You already ruined our chances of world domination. But we won't let you off so easily this time!" she cried. "There's no way we're letting you inside!"

By now, the four family members had enough of Bill's former henchmen. They stepped forward brandishing their weapons.

"Yeah, you are letting us inside!" Stan shouted. "In fact, by the time we're done with you all, you'll be smudges on the pavement!"

"And what makes you think you can do that to us?" she asked menacingly.

At that point, everyone raised their weapons. "'CAUSE WE'RE FREAKIN' PINES!" Stan shouted as the family raced forward. The Henchmaniacs raced towards the family ready to fight to the death.

 **N/A: Hi readers,**

 **I'm leaving this on a cliffhanger, but the next chapter is coming soon.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18: The Puppet

Chapter 18: The Puppet

Under a red sky, two forces battled one another. One was a bunch of rejects that were banished into a nightmare dimension, trying to establish the highest status in the multiverse. The other was a family that had been through too many horrors to count and weren't planning on laying down any time soon. Stan fired away at the strange rhombus shaped creature known as Kryptos. Suddenly, he grew ten feet tall and slammed his fist down, trying to squash his attacker. Stan just barely avoided the attacks. He twisted around and shot at the fiend.

Teeth bounced toward Mabel, chomping at her. She tried to keep a calm demeanor, but she never had giant teeth try to eat her before. Right now, she was just avoiding attacks, trying to get a good distance between her and her opponent.

Dipper swung the bat at 8 Ball who grabbed the bat with one hand and broke it in half with the other. He turned towards Ford who shot at Pyronica.

"Come here, you little cutie!" she yelled at him.

"No thank you!" Ford shouted back. He turned to his nephew who had climbed up a pine tree.

"Hey, a Pine Tree in a pine tree!" 8 Ball said gleefully.

"W-what? Shut up!" Dipper yelled back.

A hook grabbed the branch he sat on and Mabel reeled herself up to him. She sat on the branch, gasping for air. The two siblings stared down at 8 Ball and Teeth leering up at them.

"Aw, Shooting Star fell into a Pine Tree and now they're both stuck!" Teeth taunted.

"You're not clever!" Dipper yelled down.

"What do we do now?" Mabel wondered.

Dipper looked towards the building where their two great uncles still battled. It didn't look good. They were badly outnumbered.

"I'm shooting pure energy at these things. They should have disintegrated with the first blast," Ford told his brother. "I wonder if there's some kind of shield protecting them."

"We just need to get inside, right? Let's go!" Stan shouted back.

"But where are the kids?" Ford asked, looking around. He suddenly spotted them in the tree. He started to run in that direction. Stan grabbed his shoulder.

"You need to get to the portal. Just go! I'll take care of everything."

Ford turned worried eyes towards his twin. "Stanley, there's no way I'm letting you fight them on your own!"

Stan grit his teeth. "There's no way I'm letting you do anything, but get inside the Shack!"

"You mean, the Institute," Ford corrected.

"Whatever!" Stan yelled, pushing his brother towards the entrance. Suddenly, Xanthar landed in their path. The large faceless beast stood as a solid wall.

"Where the hell did he come from?" Stan cried. Something attacked the creature, sending it a few feet in the other direction. Selese landed on the ground after delivering a swift kick into its massive body. Xanthar was back on its feet heading for the alien woman. Ford stepped in front of her, aiming the distablizer at it. A hand smacked the back of his head. He twisted around to see Selese scowl at him.

"I'm taking care of these energy sucking monsters! You get to that portal! Now!" He handed her the weapon. Then he gave Stan his ray gun and ran through the door into the Institute.

Once inside the building, a roar of silence erupted in Ford's ears. Back in the years when he was lost in the Multiverse, he came to this place. It was right after he parted ways with Selese. This dimensions' Fiddleford talked to him, thinking at first he was the Stanford from this dimension. When he realized who Ford was, he told him he needed to leave so that he wouldn't meet himself and destroy the timeline. Ford moved through what would have been the living room in the shack, but looked like a large auditorium. He walked over to a laptop on a table and tapped on the keyboard. A picture of his portal appeared. He turned towards a bright light behind him where the image projected on the wall. Big words at the top read, ' _The Future Is Inner dimensional Travel.'_ Ford shook his head.

"I was such an idiot," he mumbled. He clicked the mouse on the screen for the next slide. His eyes widened. It was Bill. Bill stood proudly with his hat and cane with his hand held out. Big words on the screen read, _'The Greatest Friend Who Guided me to a Better World.'_ Ford narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth. Was his other self seriously trying to convince the people in this dimension that the triangle demon was a friend who would guide them to a better world? Ford walked away. He didn't want to see anymore.

The scientist walked into the next room that in his dimension was the gift shop, but right now it was a barren room. He turned to the door where he put in the code to get downstairs. He let out a long sigh as he stood in the descending elevator. When he reached the bottom, the doors opened and he walked into a dark room of machines with twinkling lights. He pulled down the switch that turned on overhead lights. Moving forward, he saw the desk where he had all his notebooks and the blueprint for the machine. Ford could only sigh and shake his head. He walked through the sliding door that protected the control unit and stepped out in front of the very machine he dismantled four years ago. The circle inside the upside down triangle almost mocked him. Suddenly, Ford didn't want to move forward.

 _"Ford?"_ He heard a soft feminine voice. He looked around, but found he was alone. _"It's me, Ford,"_ The voice continued.

"Selese?" he asked.

 _"I'm here with you."_ He didn't respond. _"I know you're scared. Everything will be alright."_ How did she know? He was about to relive the past.

 _"Selese, if something goes wrong with this plan... If it goes too far, you and Stanley need to stop me. You understand?"_

 _"You know we will stop Bill from destroying the world," she replied._

 _"No, I mean...you may have to end my life as well."_

He waited for a moment, but only silence returned. He looked up at the portal. Anxiety took over. It wasn't so much that he couldn't give up his life, that was actually the easy part. It was more about whether or not the others could stop him once Bill took over.

"I'm not doing this!" He turned just as a bright glow erupted from the portal. The terrifying feeling he knew over took him as he was pulled upwards. He began yelling, but he knew no one could hear him. His body entered the portal as the light blinded him.

When Ford opened his eyes, he saw pure blackness. He realized that he was drifting in a void. He moved his head every way to see rock floating around the abyss. A few rocks floated by him. He was all alone, which was odd as the last time this happened, Bill and his henchmen were on him the moment he came through the portal. Of course he knew why the henchmen weren't there, but where was Bill? He grabbed an asteroid as it floated toward him. He sat inside it as the giant rock took him through space. As soon as he relaxed a little, he heard an all too familiar voice singing.

"You are my Fordsy, my only Fordsy, you make me happy when skies are gray!"

Ford rolled his eyes. He peeked outside the floating rock to see Bill floating above. "Hi buddy!" he yelled before snapping his fingers, causing the asteroid to disappear. "What are you doing, hiding from me?"

"I wasn't hiding!" Ford responded defensively. "I was looking for you."

"Well, glad you're here!" Bill said as he snapped his fingers again and a Chessboard appeared between them. For the first time in his life, Ford did not feel like playing Chess.

"Bill, I need to talk to you." He recalled the discussion he had with Selese. "Are you still in contact with Octavius?" The Chessboard vanished suddenly and a big comfy chair appeared under Ford. One also appeared under Bill along with a teacup in their hands.

"Oh, you're here to talk business." He sipped some tea through his eye. "Go ahead."

Ford swallowed hard. He prayed Bill didn't figure out he wasn't from this timeline.

"As a matter of fact, he contacted me just before you got here."

"Really?" Ford asked raising his eyebrows. "Yeah, he told me that he was dealing with some miscreants from another timeline." Ford felt his heartbeat quickened. "He told me that they're coming here to stop our plans"

"Well, as a matter of fact, I was thinking about our plans. Are you sure you can trust Octavius?" Ford maintained a calm and serious demeanor.

"You know what Sixer? I don't. I never did trust that Octagon. He's been in the same club as those circles and you know I don't trust them." Bill sipped some more tea. "Octavius has this chip on his shoulder because he's not really a circle and they call him deformed."

"So, you agree we should work together to stop him?"

"Of course."

Ford stood up. He slowly extended his hand

"What are you doing?" Bill asked narrowing his eye skeptically.

"Let's just make the deal official," Ford replied.

"Hold on!" Bill cried, pushing his arms out to the side. "We already made the deal for me to be able to got inside your head whenever I want." Ford felt a pit forming in his stomach.

"Yes, I know. I want to make a new deal with you."

Bill raised his eyebrow. "Oh, really?" he asked.

"Do you know that Octavius used a human vessel in order to get into the Earth dimension?"

"Oh, he did, huh? Well that's stupid! Human vessels are weak when put into stressful situations. They start to break down. I already told you that your machine created the rift so my friends and I can come through and have physical forms."

"Well, your friends got through a rift from another man's portal. He's an old friend of mine—well, used to be."

"Wait a minute! You're telling me that Octavius went behind my back, made a deal with some fleshbag and actually got into the 3D world? When was he planning to get me out of here? Did he just forget about me?"

Ford shrugged, feeling some of the tension from earlier fade away. "Who knows? Maybe he's been lying to you this whole time."

Bill's eyes turned red and he let out a loud growl.

"But, you know, you can use my body to get into the Earth dimension. Together, we can stop the demon who dared to betray you."

"You are a true friend, Stanford."

"I just ask that once we're done dealing with Octavius and all those followers who turned on you, that you give me my body back. You'll still have my mind after all."

"Alright, I accept." Blue flames engulfed the demon's hand as he held it out. Ford took it. Suddenly, he felt dream demon move into his mind. The feeling was heavy, the force made him fall to his knees. It didn't feel like this before. Maybe this was all a big mistake. What was he thinking? Of course it was!

 _"Hey! You are the Ford from the other timeline!"_ he suddenly heard Bill's voice inside his head. _"I knew it! Well, it looks like we're working together now. Wow! So there was another me who fell for a stupid con? Really? Just so you know, I'm not that gullible. I can tell the difference between someone with five fingers and someone with six. My other self was an idiot!"_

"Uh, so, you're still okay with this?" Ford asked.

 _"Oh, yeah, this is great! You're mind is a lot stronger than your other self so you'll be able to endure more pain."_

Ford's eyes grew wide. "What?"

"Alright, enough lollygagging about!" Bill now having total control of Ford's body, opened his eyes, showing a yellow glow. "Let's go meet our Octagon friend."

Outside the shack, more monsters poured down from the sky. Selese and Stan kept fighting, but even with unlimited ammo, and super strength, it was still a challenge. Dipper and Mabel still sat in the tree looking down at Teeth and 8 Ball playing cards at the bottom.

"Got any backwards threes?" Teeth asked.

"Go fish," 8 Ball responded. He looked up at the twins and looked back at his partner. "So, how long before we just burn the tree down?"

"I was waiting on them to just fall out of the tree."

Dipper let out a long sigh. "Why didn't I think of a better weapon when were on the ship?" He looked at his hands. "I've got nothing."

"Don't feel bad. I could have come up with a second weapon other than the grappling hook."

"I wish I had like, I don't know, a flamethrower." Suddenly, one materialized in his hands. He almost fell off the branch he sat on. "What? How did—?"

"Who cares?! I'll lower us down and you can burn those two."

Dipper held onto his sister as they were lowered to the ground. The two Henchmaniacs turned towards them.

"Oh, you finally decided to come down," Teeth said gleefully. "How nice of y—" Dipper interrupted the tiny monster when he shot the flames out at it. Teeth ran away as he caught on fire. "Not again! Why does this keep happening to me?!" Dipper quickly turned to 8 Ball and unleashed a wave of fire, however, he just stood there.

He laughed at the teen. "I'm fire resistant," he said. Mabel shot out the grappling hook, knocking the monster out.

"Yeah, but not grappling hook resistant!" she replied.

While the chaos ensued, a lone figure stepped on to the roof of the institute. Bill's yellow eyes stared at the warring monsters with a huge grin. He walked Ford's body to the edge of the roof and peered down at Stan and Selese battling monsters. When they defeated the monsters around them, they ran over to where Dipper and Mabel stood by the tree.

"We're going into the Shack!" Stan yelled.

"You mean, the Institute?" Dipper corrected.

"Whatever!" Stan harshly responded. The four of them ran through the front door.

Bill still stood on the roof when another figure floated down behind him.

"Stanford?" he heard a deep voice. Bill turned around.

"You're half right," he answered.

Octavius manipulated Andrew's body, pushing his mouth into a smirk.

"Bill?" he asked.

The mentioned shook his head. Suddenly, he let out a boisterous laugh.

"I can't believe that scientist bonded with you again. He must be desperate to get rid of me!"

"We both are," Bill answered in a darkening tone.

"I thought I could trust you—no, I can't say that with a straight face. I'm just surprised you didn't fall for my truce. You know this is the Stanford from the other timeline, right?"

"Duh!" Bill answered even thought he found out after he possessed Ford's body. Blue flames erupted from Ford's hands. "I hope this isn't hurting him too much. Most human bodies can't take on demon powers."

A long blade engulfed in violet flames appeared in Andrew's hand.

"Why do you care about him? His just a pawn, right?" Octavius used his human host as he charged at his opponent. Bill floated into the air to avoid the attack.

"That was pathetic!" Bill yelled down at him.

Octavius floated up into the sky where the two began to duel until one dropped to the ground.

A/N: Thanks for reading.


	19. Chapter 19: Truth Revealed

**N/A: I want to take a moment to thank those of you still reading this story and a special thanks to those of you leaving feedback. When I receive reviews, it keeps me motivated to finish this story. My goal is to finish it by the end of May.**

Chapter 19: Truth Revealed

Inside the institute, the rest of the Pines family along with Selese stood in the presentation room.

"So, I'm not exactly sure how we're defeating Octavius," Dipper began. "And now, we have to worry about Bill?"

"The plan was to have Ford bond with Bill so that he could come into this world to fight Octavius," Selese explained.

"Why can't we use a wheel to defeat Octavius like we did with Bill?" Mabel asked.

"Oh yes. Blendin told me about how the wheel came into existence."

"He knows about how the wheel was created?" Dipper asked.

Selese looked passed the family members to where the shadows eloped over the far corner of the room.

"Maybe its best if he explains."

Everyone turned to see Blendin step forward.

"What the hell?" Stan yelled. "Where did you come from?"

Blendin fiddled with his watch, which caused him to fade in and out. "I snuck over here," he said as he finally got himself to stay solid. "Yes, I know about the wheel, but—" His eyes went to Selese. "Should I tell them?" He suddenly felt the glare of the family fall on him.

"You don't have a choice now," she replied.

"Darn it! Okay, well, it all started when Weirdmagedon happened. Well, the first time it happened."

"The first time?" Dipper asked.

Blendin nodded. "This is the reality where the wheel does not exist. Demons can only be taken down by other demons. The wheel is something invented in your timeline only."

"Why?" Mabel asked. "I don't understand?" She looked at her brother.

"I have no idea," he admitted.

Blendin sighed. "Your two uncles ended up in Gravity Falls because of an accident happening with a project one of them made. In one reality, the project was destroyed and the other one, it wasn't."

"You're telling me that in this reality, I didn't destroy my brother's project?" Stan asked, growing more interested.

"No, you did, but you redeemed yourself when you agreed to take the journal." Stan scratched his head.

"Can you start making sense?" Stan fumed.

"You didn't destroy the project in your timeline," Blendin explained. "You thought you did, but you checked it and it was working properly."

"So, what happened? Why didn't it work for my brother's presentation?"

Blendin gulped. "Because—I wrecked it."

Stan stared at the chubby man in front of him. In one sudden motion, he gritted his teeth and lunged at Blendin. "You son of bitch!" he screamed as his hands grasped the other man's throat.

"Grunkle Stan! Stop!" Dipper yelled as he tried to pull the old man off. Mabel got in between her uncle and the time officer. "Wait! Let him finish the story!"

"Yeah!" Blendin choked. "Let 'him' finish the story!" Stan reluctantly let go, letting Blendin fall to the floor gasping for air.

"Why?!" Stan lashed out. Why the freakin' hell did you do that?! Ford worked so hard on that project and he blamed me for it being destroyed! My dad threw me out of the house that night and for the next ten years, I—!"

"I know!" Blendin shouted. Then he quieted his voice. "I-I'm sorry. I-I had to get you both to Gravity Falls. And I had to get your niece and nephew there too. In this reality, Dipper and Mabel never came here. All of you had to be here." He turned to the twins. "You two had to make the friends you did so that they could be part of the wheel too. Everyone was connected in some way. I'm the one who went back in time and drew the wheel. I saw the future where Bill won, and it's not a future any of us would want to see."

Everyone in the room went silent.

"What's going to happen to Grunkle Ford?" Mabel asked.

"He'll be okay," Selese answered. "Octavius is actually a weak demon. He had no hopes of taking over a world by himself. That's why he made the deal with Bill." The family members looked very unsure of the situation. "To put your minds at ease, I am keeping an eye on your great uncle and he's alright."

"How?" Dipper asked.

"When I traveled with him in the other dimension, we made a bond. I can read minds, but this was done so we could feel each other's emotions even if we were in separate worlds."

 _Selese and a much younger Ford sat facing each other, crossed legged, their hand locked. Four candles circled them. They breathed in and out, their breathed in sync with one another. Light formed in the center of their bodies and engulfed their entire person, then it transferred to the other person. It expanded in a large ring, extinguishing the flames of the candles. Then the two simultaneously opened their eyes._

 _"It's done," Selese said. "How do you feel?"_

 _"I'm not sure anything happened. How do I know it worked?" he asked._

 _"When the time comes, you'll know. We may have to be separated to see how it works."_

 _Ford squeezed her hands. "I don't want to be separated from you."_

 _She put a hand to her mouth and silently laughed. "You won't have to worry about that."_

"Okay, that's great," Stan said in somewhat of a sarcastic tone. "So, what are we doing exactly?"

"Just staying low until your brother and Bill kill Octavius," Selese answered as if it were clearly simple.

"Why are you so freakin' calm about all this?" Stan said with much hostility.

"We want Grunkle Ford to be alright after all of this," Mabel said with increasing sadness in her voice.

Selese nodded. "I believe he will be fine. He's very strong. After being in the Multiverse for all that time and all the training I did with him, he has a very strong soul. He may have not made it if he and I didn't meet." She let out a laugh. "Or maybe he would have. He had a strong will even when I first met him."

Everyone was quiet, then... CRASH! Something hit the Institute hard, causing the building to shake and the occupants inside to be tossed to the floor.

"We're not safe here!" Dipper cried. "Didn't my uncle protect this shack like he did in our timeline?"

"Yeah, with the unicorn hair," Mabel chimed in.

"Let me guess, you already knew that too," Stan snidely asked.

Selese shook her head. "No, I didn't. What about this unicorn hair? You actually got one to give you its hair?"

Mabel giggled. "Not willingly," she answered.

Selese stared with wonder at the teenage girl.

"It's better not to ask any questions," Dipper said.

Another loud CRASH erupted from the other room. The five ran towards the sound. Stan readied the ray gun Ford gave him. Dipper held tightly onto the flamethrower and nodded for Mabel to open the door.

On the other side of the door was the totem pole that once stood outside the shack. It now lay across the room. They watched as a few squirrels ran in from outside, followed by two eye bats. Using their eye beams, the eyes turned each woodland creature into stone and carried them away.

"Well, this place isn't safe anymore," Stan said.

"I don't understand why the Ford in this timeline wouldn't protect his own company like he did the shack," Dipper wondered out loud.

"Because he's an idiot. The more I hear about my brother from another timeline, the more I'm grateful to be related to the one I am," Stan lamented.

Selese giggled some more, gaining the attention of the three family members. "Like I said at the beginning of all this. They are two different people. The Stanford in this timeline really was too arrogant. He probably thought that his deal with Bill meant he and his possessions would both be safe during the chaos."

"So, you're saying that my great uncle didn't care if he caused the end of the world as long as he was safe?" Dipper cried. "Are you freakin' kidding me?!"

"I'm having a hard time believing that myself," Stan said. "I mean, I know I got pissed off at him thirty years ago when I showed up at his comfy log home and he just told me to take his stupid journal and leave." He shook his head. "I can't believe he would knowingly cause the end of the world and not care!"

"I know my great uncle did everything he could to keep that rift from breaking!" Dipper added.

Selese sighed and pointed to the door down into the basement. "We need to get downstairs. We'll be safe down there."

Dipper ran over to the door where a keypad peeked out of the wall.

"No vending machine?" He looked at the numbers on the pad.

"It's the same code," Selese said.

He punched it in.

"Will my Grunkle Ford be okay?" Mabel asked.

Selese nodded. "Your uncle is okay. He's just a little worried."

Stan shook his head. "He's scared out of his mind right now. Not for himself of course, but for everyone else."

After Dipper put in the code, the door opened and the group walked through the door into the dark corridor. Selese cupped her hands together, creating a light.

"You can sense his thoughts?" she asked Stan.

"Yeah, we've got that whole ESP thing. It doesn't work all the time, but it comes in handy."

"Man, I wish Mabel and I had that," Dipper complained.

"I know," Mabel agreed. Suddenly, the two of them sneezed at the same time.

They continued down to the elevator.

Bill moved Ford's body away from every one of Octavius' attacks. However, it was tiring work. He felt the weight of the body he inhabited holding him back.

"Hey Sixer! You need to help me out here! Stop resisting!"

 _"Don't call me that!"_ he heard Ford's voice shout at him. _"You don't have the right!"_

"Well, excuse me! You're the one who wanted to make the deal! You need to let me have control of your body."

 _"I'm supposed to trust you! You tricked me!"_

"No, the other me from the other world tricked you! My Fordsy was all on board with helping me rule the world! An option my other self gave you, but you turned down!"

Suddenly, the spear in Andrew's arms swung out at Ford. Bill moved just before it pierced his chest.

 _"Okay, fine. I guess you wouldn't want any harm to come to my body while you're in it,"_ Ford decided.

"Finally figured it out, Genius?"

 _"Just don't get too comfortable."_

Blue flames appeared in his hands. He tossed numerous fireballs at Andrew, making direct contact with his body. Bill was about to gloat, but halted when he realized that the man's body absorbed the fire, creating a bluish aura around him. Suddenly, his hands rose to the sky; the cyan glow moved to his hands, where a huge orb of lighting appeared. He tossed the lighting orb at Ford, who tried to move, but found himself struck with paralysis.

"Bill! Move us out of the w—"

The warning did not come fast enough as the ball of energy struck him directly into the chest, sending his body plummeting down towards the ground.

When the elevator doors opened, Selese led the way into the large room where many lights twinkled along with the sound of a continuous motor of the machines. The family members were too shocked to speak as they saw the portal in front of them.

"It's actually still here," Dipper whispered.

"Yeah, but Ford isn't," Stan returned. "Where'd he go?"

"Let's try the other floor," Mabel suggested.

They turned back to the elevator, but Selese moved towards the portal.

"What if I made a mistake," she said. "I-I shouldn't have let him do this!"

Someone touched her shoulder. She turned to see Mabel. The teenage girl smiled a row of white teeth that once had braces.

"He might be in his study," she said.

"Where is that?" Selese asked.

Mabel led the way back to the elevator.

Everyone walked into the room on the second floor. Dipper recalled being the first person his great uncle showed this place to. It was also the place where he found out about the secret of his uncle making his first deal with Bill. The study as he remembered was kind of cluttered with notepaper all over the desk. However, this place looked like a hurricane came through. Graph paper and notebooks scattered all over the floor. It appeared the same way after he and his uncle played D&D and More D. Did his uncle's other self play that game too? He suddenly chastised himself for concerning himself with something like that right now.

Suddenly, Mabel let out a sheik, popping Dipper out of his thought. Stan followed suit with his own cry. Dipper ran to the other side of the room. When his eyes went to the walls, he had to scream too. Blood was splattered everywhere.

"No! Great Uncle Ford! Oh my God! He's—" Selese put a hand over the blood on the wall. The others in the room drew back with disgust on their faces.

"It's dry," she said. "But, I can still feel his pain."

"So, it is his blood?" Stan asked, his voice rising in horror.

"It's his blood—from a long time ago." The three family members cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Wait, you can tell how old someone's blood is?" Mabel asked.

"I can feel the person's pain when I touch them. I can sometimes feel that same pain through their fluids, in this case, his blood.

"I don't understand! What happened?" Dipper cried furiously.

Selese lowered her hand and slowly turned to the others.

"Did Ford ever tell any of you about what happened to him when Bill possessed him thirty years ago?"

"He promised that he never hurt anyone while Bill was in his mind," Dipper said defensively.

"No, he didn't hurt anyone— He hurt himself."

Three pairs eyes stared wide-eyed at the woman.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Stan burst out.

"It was Bill's way to test Ford's allegiance. I guess it was the same in this timeline.

A memory flashed in her mind. It was his memory. She saw Ford holding a knife high in the air and then slash down across his arm.

 _"Pain is hilarious!"_ Bill's shrill voice came out of his mouth. More knife slashes. Blood squirted onto the wall. Bill's laughter echoed throughout the room...

Selese stood silently as tears filled her eyes. "No. This was a bad plan from the start. You can't take any more abuse from that demon." She ran to the elevator. Confused, the three family members ran after her.

Selese ran out of the Institute. Much of the battles had ceased. Her eyes searched for any sight of Ford.

"Please be alright," she whispered. "Where are you?" She shut her eyes and waited. Stan and the two teens walked up behind her.

"I'm going to find him," she said before running off.

"Hey wait!" Dipper yelled. He chased after her. Stan and Mabel followed.

Dipper ran fast after the alien woman. She ran through the woods, swiftly moving around trees and pushing branches out of her way. Dipper did his best to keep up with her. He dodged the swaying branches, staying close to her heels. Suddenly, she stopped. She dropped to her knees. Dipper moved around her so he could see what she peered down on. Suddenly his voice strangled out a loud cry. There in the tall grass was his great uncle, mangled up and lying in his own blood.

 **A/N: There's going to be one more chapter in this story. Please let me know your comments and suggestions. I tried going with a theory believed true in the show about why the wheel existed. Let me know what works and what doesn't, and all that.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	20. Chapter 20: Demon Duel

**A/N: Hi Everyone, thanks for sticking around. I know in my last announcement, I said this was the last chapter, however, I thought it was too long so I'm going to have two more chapters. The good news is that I wrote both of them already so you won't have to wait to read them. Again, thank you to those of you who are still reading this. I appreciate your comments and suggestions.**

Chapter 20: Demon Duel

Dipper screamed. He screamed again and again until his voice gave out. Stan and Mabel finally arrived at the scene. Mabel stared at her brother's horrified face, his mouth stuck in a silent scream.

"Dipper! What's wrong!" she cried as she shook him.

Suddenly, Selese let out her own horrible cry. The three family members blocked their ears as the alien woman's scream sounded similar to a group of whales screeching in extreme pain.

"What the freakin' hell is going on?" Stan raged. He pushed his grand nephew aside and peered around Selese. The sight of his brother lying face down in the bloodied grass with cuts and bruises all over his body, made the elderly man almost heave the contents in his stomach. He swallowed hard, and then quickly covered Mabel's eyes before she could see anything.

"Hey, Grunkle Stan! I wanna see—"

"No!" Stan shouted as he pushed her back. "Go stand by your brother." Mabel obeyed as she realized that her twin needed some comfort anyway.

"Ford," Selese whispered. "Is—Is this how it ends? I'm so sorry. I didn't want this to happen."

Stan shook his head. His eyes hardened as he turned to the blue skinned woman.

"Well, what did you want to have happen?" His voice came out faint, just above a whisper. Selese kept her head down, unable to speak.

"Answer me, you blood thirsty wench!" He grabbed Selese and pulled her to her feet. She was heavier than he expected. He stretched out his back relieving the strain before he continued. "My brother is dead because of you!" Dipper suddenly fell to his knees sobbing. Mabel joined him.

"W-What?" she asked with a weak voice. "Grunkle Ford—?"

Stan kept his hard glare on Selese. "I should have said 'no' from the beginning. No to everything! Going to his friend's house, to this stupid plan! Everything!"

"I didn't want this!" Selese cried. She looked down at Ford's body. "You were supposed to be stronger than this! Why couldn't you do it?"

Suddenly, Stan smacked the woman with the back of his hand. Even though the force moved her head to the side, she barely grunted a sound.

"You bitch!" Stan screamed. "How dare you blame him! Go to Hell!" He stormed off before he did something he would regret, or she regret, either way.

The younger twins watched their great uncle walk off without saying a word. They felt his steaming anger from where they stood. Selese slowly lowered herself to her knees.

"No, you don't understand," she whispered. "I loved him— I really loved him." She put her head in her hands. "We didn't have any other choice. They wouldn't come here and do anything! I'm the only one who cared!" She finally screamed.

"What are you talking about?" Dipper asked. He kept his eyes away from his great uncle.

"The Acturian Council made the call to choose someone to be an ambassador for the Earth dimension. I volunteered. I told them about Bill and Octavius teaming up. Their response wasn't to come her to deal with the two demons, but to just sit back and observe—to see if humans would fight back. Guess what? They saw the people who fought against Bill. They saw your family and the other people in the town of Gravity Falls. They've been observing you for the last four years since Bill's takeover of your town. They thought, 'hey, the same family that fought and defeated Bill and his followers should be able to defeat him again as well as Octavius.'" She finally looked over at the boy. "I came here to help you guys and I—I just made everything worse."

Dipper sighed. "We all agreed to it, I guess. Ford could have said no."

Selese stood up. "He did say no. I'm the one who talked him into it by—flattering him. But, unlike Bill, I meant every word I said. Your uncle is the strongest human I've ever met. All of you are very strong for your species." Selese let out a long sigh. "At least, Bill is gone. I mean, if your uncle is dead, that means Bill was pulled into the limbo dimension where the council will pick him up. Hopefully, Octavius met the same fate."

Selese walked with the two teens as they looked for Stan. Hopefully he had cooled down a little. As they moved along the forest path, a faint shout came from behind them. They stopped, as it grew louder.

"Hey! Can y'all wait a moment?" They stopped and turned toward the elderly southern accent. From the brush, Fiddleford came out panting.

"Hold on! Have you guys seen Ford?" he asked. The three dropped their heads. "We were running through the woods, but I lost him."

Selese looked up. "Wait, what do you mean, you were running through the woods?"

"Well, I did as you said. I took the Ford from this dimension away from town. Well, we tried, but we got attacked before we could get out of here. We abandoned our car and ran for the woods. However, we got separated."

Selese's eyes widened. "Wait a minute!" She ran back to Ford's body and pushed it over. There was a slight difference between the two Ford's from each universe. The Ford in this dimension had shorter hair and dark spots on his cheeks.

"This is Stanford from this dimension! Ford! You're still alive!"

Fiddleford looked down at the corpse of his friend. "Oh my God! Ford!" He took off his hat. "I'm sorry Selese, I failed you." Fresh tears formed in her eyes as she hugged the man.

"No, you didn't."

Stan finally slowed his pace as he reached the edge of the woods. It was then he came to his senses and realized he left his grandniece and nephew. Spinning around his heel, he was about to bolt back through the trees when he heard a groan come from the nearby brush. He stood behind a thick oak tree and watched his brother, his real brother, move to his feet.

"That damn Octagon is going to pay or that!" he heard Bill's voice erupt from his twin's mouth. A yellow aura formed around his brother's body and he leapt into the sky. His eyes widened. If that was his brother, than who was that other guy? Then it finally hit him. He turned his heels and ran to find the kids.

As he raced through the trees, he heard someone calling his name. He pushed on towards the voice, smacking tree limbs out of his way. He heard his name again. His eyes caught the two figures running towards him.

"Grunkle Stan!" he heard his niece and nephew shout.

"Great! I found you two! And I found Ford! He's okay! I figured out that the guy we saw was—"

"Grunkle Ford from this dimension," the two answered in unison.

Stan let out a long sigh. "Thank God! Well, sort of."

Selese and Fiddleford came through the brush suddenly startling the other three.

"Are you alright?" Selese asked.

"Yeah, fine," Stan answered breathing heavily.

"So, I've got good news and bad news," she began. "The good news is that your brother is still alive. The bad new is that he's still possessed by Bill."

Stan narrowed his eyes at her. "And I have good and bad news for you. The good news is that I'm not going to kill you. The bad news is that I'm no longer helping your dumb ass and I'm getting rid of that demon myself!" He turned away.

"And just how are you going to do that?" she asked.

"I don't know yet!"

Selese earnestly met Stan's eyes. "The plan will work. Just have faith."

Stan began to raise his hand to strike the woman again, but strange enough Mabel stepped in his path. "Have faith," she said.

Stan dropped his head and pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed.

As chaos ensued on the ground with various monsters terrorizing the townsfolk, two entities used their hosts to battle in the sky. Crimson red filled the entire town. Octavius did a good job using Andrew to absorb any attacks Bill and Ford gave him. Bill used his host to tackle his opponent, but it felt like he just hit a brick wall. He floated in the air an inch away from Andrew's body.

"How are you this strong?!" Bill ranted. "You were never like this when we last met."

A smirk formed on Andrew's mouth; the same one Ford remembered when he was about to get tortured by him. Bill sensed Ford's thoughts.

"Yeah, I can tell you've had enough of these punks too, Sixer," Bill agreed. Cyan flames formed in the old scientist's hands as his eyes flashed red. "We're ending this now!" Bill screeched. Cyan flames licked Ford's entire body.

 _Bill!_ Ford shouted from inside his head. _Stop it! My body can't take this much heat!_

 _You're fine, Bill_ insisted. _Don't worry, this will be over quick!_

Andrew dove at Ford, grabbing onto him, twisting and tossing him into the water tower. Ford thought he passed out, but somehow, he still floated in the air. He pulled his head up, leaving blood on the edge of the guard rail that circled the tower. He looked up to see crimson flames lining Andrew's body, his eyes matching the color.

"You wont' win!" he heard Andrew's real voice. "Not this time, Stanford! I won't allow you to best me ever again! You may have won the science fair in Freshman, Sophomore and Junior year, but you messed up when we were Seniors. You may have stolen my place, graduating first in our class, but don't you forget! I was the one who made it into West Coast Tech! You failed!"

Ford suddenly felt the ability to move his body again. He grabbed his throbbing head as he growled,

"I don't care Andrew! Some things in life are more important than winning everything! Some things are more important than always being number one!"

"Yeah, like what?" Andrew threw back.

"How about family? I pushed mine away for my work! I pushed my best friend away! All I got for trying to be the best was being alone!"

"Family and friends? Please, I've always had my muse. Octavius, let's finish them both!"

 _Muse._ Ford thought bitterly. _You don't get it. We made deals with demons, demons who cost us everything, even our sanity._

 _So, that's how you feel about me, Stanford?_ Bill fumed. _Thanks a lot!_

Bill took over again floating up higher, above the tower. Andrew flew up and grabbed Ford, trying to pull him down. Suddenly, Bill twisted Ford's body, and tossed Andrew down at the tower. He caught the tip of the tower with his feet and jumped back up. The blade with a violet aura appeared in his hands again. He swung it at his enemy. Ford's hands caught the tip of the blade. Neither of them moved. Suddenly, Bill sent the cyan flames from Ford's body down the blade and into Andrew. Cries erupted from the man's mouth as well as from the demon inside of him. Andrew fell down towards the Earth. As he did, Octavius lost a hold of his mind and floated upwards into the vortex in the sky. As he did, every monster from down below got pulled up towards the hole in the sky. As the sky vortex closed, the sky resumed its normal grayish blue color.

"Yes! We did it!" Bill yelled. He looked down and saw someone hanging on the railing around the tower. He floated down to see Andrew hanging helplessly with one hand.

"Hey, you're still alive," Bill said. Andrew looked up with weak eyes.

"I-I don't want to die," he choked out. He looked into the yellow eyes of the demon and realized that he was as good as dead. Suddenly, a hand was held out to him.

"Andrew!" He heard Ford's voice. He looked into normal brown eyes now.

"Ford? Help me!" Ford reached out. As Andrew reached up, the kind brown eyes became gold.

"Oops!" Bill shouted as he pulled the hand away. Andrew lost his grip and plummeted downwards with a cry that echoed throughout the entire town.

Bill used Ford's body and floated down to the ground. He stared at the bloodied and bruised body of Andrew Cartwell.

"Well, you don't have to worry about him ever again, Fordsy."

Ford didn't respond as Bill thought he would.

From the edge of the woods, Stan, Dipper and Mabel ran out with Selese and Fiddleford following them.

"Ford! You're alive!" Selese cried. "Did Bill leave your body?"

Ford looked up at her showing the gold tinted eyes.

"Nope," Bill answered.

"Okay Bill, you did your part, now get out of his body."

"Why? So the Acturian Council can seize me the moment I leave this dimension? I'm in Ford's head, you idiot! I already know your plan!"

The family members exchanged worried glances.

"You made the deal that you would leave his body once you defeated Octavius," Selese spoke strongly.

Bill controlled Ford's body as he put a finger to his chin.

"Hmm, I don't recall. He just agreed for me to use his body to defeat the Octagon. He didn't say anything about me ever leaving his body."

"Yeah, I'm sure he did!" Stan shouted. "Now get out of my brother, you bastard triangle!"

"How rude," Bill replied. "You know what? Just for that, I'm gonna stay here. If Sixer did say something about me leaving his body when this was over, and if I agreed, I will leave his body when this is all over. However—it's not over!" A golden aura appeared around Ford as Bill lifted his host back into the sky. The sky turned dark as a pyramid came up from the ground and floated in the air.

The other watched this from the ground.

"No," Selese whispered. "Ford, I'm so sorry. I did this to you."

 **N/A: Thanks for reading. Leave a comment if you wish. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Last chapter is coming up shortly!**


	21. Chapter 21: My New Muse

**N/A: Here we go with the last chapter! Yay!**

Chapter 21: My New Muse

The dark sky cracked; shards broke apart as the world became a black void. Everyone stood on the ground, gazing upwards at Ford's body floating above.

"No—" Selese barely spoke above a whisper. She shook her head. Suddenly, her violet colored eyes became silvery white. An aura matching her eye color formed around her body. "I won't let him use you like this!" she screamed. All at once, she bolted upwards. Hurling herself upwards, she wrapped her arms around Ford's waist.

"Hey, let go!" Bill shouted. Selese held on tighter. "Geez, you must really like ol' Fordsy. Tell you what? After I get myself acquainted in my new home, I'll let him have some fun with you." Bill jested. Selese narrowed her eyes and gripped his shoulders. With one hand, she put her palm on his forehead; a brilliant white light formed a circle. As she pulled back her hand, a pointed head came out of his skin. She pulled until Bill fully emerged and floated as a translucent figure floating in front of her.

"Hey! What the—?" He cried. She flung her wrist, sending the gold triangle up into the sky. Bill cried out as he faded into the atmosphere.

Selese gazed as Ford as he still was passed out. She lowered him to the ground. As his feet touched the Earth, she fell unconscious. Stan ran to catch Ford as he fell forwards. He shook his brother.

"Stanford! Wake up!" Ford fell to his knees and Stan knelt with him. Dipper and Mabel rushed over to their great uncle.

"Oh my God! Don't tell me he's—" Dipper's cry was cut short as his uncle began to stir. He let out a low moan as he opened his eyes.

"You okay, Sixer?" Stan asked. Ford moaned again as his head hung limp.

"I'm so sorry," Fiddleford said as he looked over.

"Why are you sorry?" Dipper asked.

"I should have quit working with Ford; I mean the one from this timeline. He lied and said he wasn't working with that demon anymore."

"That's not your fault," Mabel said. "Besides you tried to help by getting him out of town."

He nodded.

"I just don't know what to do, now." He looked over at the Ford from the other timeline. For a moment, he wished this Ford were his friend instead.

"You've got a lot of great inventions," Dipper said. "You should—

I don't know, get a paten on them and sell them to the government?"

A smile formed on the elderly man's face. "You think they'd be interested?"

The young man shrugged. "Worth a shot."

"What about you guys?"

"We'll be fine," Stan said. "We always are."

Fiddleford smiled at the strongest family he ever met. He waved at them as he walked back towards the Institute.

Stan shook Ford again.

"Hey, come on, Ford. It's over, we can go home."

"Wait, how are we getting home?" Mabel wondered.

Dipper turned towards where he thought the alien woman stood. "Selese—" He stopped in mid-sentence as he looked down at the fallen body. He rushed over to her. "Hey! Are you alright?" The woman lay on her side, her eyes closed and her arms stretched out. Dipper knelt beside her and nudged her. Just as he was about to touch her, a foot shot out, kicking him away. He looked up to see Raynard glowering down at him.

"You keep your lower dimensional claws off her!" He knelt down and touched her chest. "No! " He looked up at the family. His eyes shot right to Ford who was barely awake. "You! This is all your fault and you will pay!" He charged towards the scientist. Just before he reached Ford, Stan stood in his way. He held up his hands brandishing his brass knuckles. Mabel and Dipper followed suit as she held her grappling hook and he still had the blowtorch. Raynard narrowed his eyes at the three, letting out a strained laughed.

"What a family," he whispered.

Finally Ford was able to stand.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

Raynard turned his head towards the fallen alien woman.

"Selese!" Ford gasped. He rushed over to her.

"Don't bother. She's—passsed on." Ford spun around, swinging a full punch into the Raynard's face. The bug-like man only grunted in response.

"How could you say that?" Ford lashed out, his voice cracking.

Stan walked forward. "We watched her. S-she somehow pulled that demon right out of you head."

"She used her spirit form in the third dimension," Raynard said.

"What does that mean?" Ford asked.

"In the fifth dimension and higher, you can become pure energy. However, in the lower dimensions, you have to leave your physical body." Ford knelt by the woman he spent the first ten years on the other side of the portal with.

"B-but, you can heal her right?"

"She had to leave her physical body," Raynard said slowly. "She's not dead. She just went back into the other realm, back to where she came from."

Tears formed in Ford's eyes. He held her close to him. "I-I'm sorry Selese. I'm sorry I got mad at you and for years, I-I hated you because you left." He gasped for air as he as he tried to hold back his sobs. A hand fell on his shoulder. His eyes went up to his brother, then to his niece and nephew. Stan stood his brother up and embraced him. "Just let it out," he whispered. Finally, it happened. He let out everything. All the pain from watching Stan being tossed out by their dad to seeing him years later and ending up going thought the portal, the hard years he spent alone and for nearly causing the end of the world.

"I don't know why anyone keeps their faith in me," he sobbed.

"Because you try so hard," Stan answered. "I heard about the other 'you' from this dimension. Let me just say, that I glad that schmuk isn't my brother." Ford steadied his breathing, while gasping for air.

"What now?" The family let out a huge sigh together.

"I can take you back to your timeline," Raynard said. "I have to do it anyway so nothing in this timeline gets messed up." He picked up Selese's body. He pushed a button on his wristwatch. A green light shined down on them.

In the next moment, the family stood on the ship again. Everyone sat in the luxurious room where they sat the last time they were on board. No one spoke.

When they came off the ship again, the four expected to be in front of the Mystery Shack. However that's not where they ended up. The four family members stared up at the mansion where Andrew once lived.

"What the hell? Why are we here?" Stan cried out.

"Probably because the RV is here," Ford said gesturing to the vehicle.

"So, I guess we're driving home?" Dipper asked. Stan looked up at the giant house.

"Hm, you know what?" He walked up to the front door to inspect it. "Just give me one moment." He grabbed a large back out of the RV and walked back to the door.

"What are you doing, Stanley?" Ford asked in his usual irritated tone. Stan used his lock picks and easily opened the door.

"He's dead. He won't be coming back here."

Stan walked into the house, and went for the kitchen where Andrew kept all of his wine bottles. One by one, each expensive, imported wine was shoved into the bag. Then he turned to leave. He was on his way out when his eyes caught the large picture of Andrew over the fireplace. Once that was removed, Stan saw the safe behind it. He shrugged his shoulders. Taking out his lock picks, he tried to spring open the lock. Suddenly, an alarm went off. His eye sprang wide open as he fled.

Ford still stood outside with Dipper and Mabel when the alarm went off. The three were about to rush inside, when Stan ran out with the bag full of wine bottles.

"What the hell Stanley?" Ford chastised.

"Just get in the RV!" Stan yelled back.

No one argued as they all piled inside. In the next moment, the vehicle turned on and peeled out of the driveway.

 _Ford didn't remember falling asleep, but it couldn't have been long after they left Seattle. He found himself in a beautiful field of wildflowers. It was different than the dreams where he stood in a wheat field. A figure walked towards him. His eyes gazed at the blue skinned woman with her unusual violet colored eyes._

 _"Selese?" he spoke in awe. He shook his head. "I'm so sorry." She put a finger on his lips, then wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned forward and kissed him._

 _"You didn't do anything wrong," she said. "Bringing you to the other Earth and having you bond with Bill was my idea. Well, it was the Council's idea, but I went along with it. I should have known that he'd try to keep you." Ford kept his solemn stare on her._

 _"Oh, by the way," she turned around and pointed to a bright light. Inside it was a vision of the Acturian Council holding Bill and Octavius in custody. Silvery white chains lassoed the two demons. "They won't bother anyone ever again." She turned back to Ford. "We also have those henchmen too. And we owe it all to the bravest man in the Multiverse." Ford's checks blushed._

 _"I owe it all to my family," he said. "And to you. You got me through the first ten years in the Multiverse. I was strong enough to go on because of you."_

 _She smiled. "And I was strong enough to keep a physical form in the third dimension because of you. We helped each other out."_

 _"So, am I only able to see you in my dreams now?" he asked._

 _"For now. I'll be able to come to your dimension again. Or maybe, one day, you can come to mine. But for now, we can always meet here."_

 _Ford smiled. Before, he had Bill in his mind to keep him company. Truthfully, he was happier to have Selese._

 _"That's okay, for now," he responded as he embraced her. He gave her one final kiss before she disappeared._

Ford woke up in time for Stan to pull up to the Mystery Shack. The younger twins woke up too. The four gazed up at the humble abode. They were home.

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HINT: Move 3 Forward

 **N/A: I hope everyone enjoyed the story. Thanks again to everyone who stayed until the end!**


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